Black Iris
by Pure Red Crane
Summary: Tadashi's world has crumbled with the death of his younger brother, Hiro. However, after discovering that Hiro's death may not have been as accidental as it seemed, Tadashi finds himself on a mission to catch the one responsible with his friends. But who is this mysterious Yokai and who is the strange black and indigo wearing superhero that Fred has decided to call Black Iris?
1. Chapter 1: Time

**Warnings: Time travel/Parallel universe fic.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Big Hero 6. It belongs to Disney and Marvel. If I did own it, Tadashi would have lived longer than 23 minutes.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Time**

Tadashi sat on his bed, staring into nothing. He didn't want to look up. All the robots standing on the shelves and his brother's side of the room would be seen if he did. If he saw them, his heart would crack, breaking under the feelings of despair and sadness. They would remind him that his brother, Hiro, was dead and he wouldn't be able to bear it.

Tadashi blamed himself for his brother's death. Had he not tried to make him go to Nerd school, maybe the fourteen year old would still be with him. The college student shook his head at those thoughts. Tears started to form. He was so helpless that day. He couldn't save Hiro at all. Tadashi did his best to try and help as many people as possible, yet he couldn't do the same his brother.

 _Helplessness. Incompetence._ Those were the words the brunet hated.

Tadashi didn't want to be anything like that. His brother was gifted. Sadly, Tadashi wasn't nearly as intelligent as Hiro was. While he was a straight A student, he got there with much more difficulty than Hiro did. That boy could invent time travel had it caught his attention…Time travel. How Tadashi wished he had that kind of power. He wished he could control fate, maybe then Hiro might not have disappeared from his life.

The college student could remember that day so easily. It had been haunting him for three weeks. On the day of the convention, Hiro had earned his way into college with his microbots. Tadashi was so happy for him. The lights in the building weren't nearly as bright as he, his brother and his friends' joyful faces lit the entire hall. Everyone was smiling, laughing, congratulating, proud of the small fourteen year old. Tadashi started imagining how great his brother was going to do in college and the amazing things he could do, even picturing them in the same class made him unbelievably excited. Tadashi and Hiro would learn so much together…together…

But that was never going to happen. Tadashi started to cry, his hands trying to wipe the never-ending tears from his eyes. It wasn't long after they started celebrating that the hall was suddenly on fire with everyone still inside. People rushed out, trying to get away from the rapidly growing flames. Tadashi and his group did the same. He held Hiro's hand as they ran, guiding him to the exit, to safety. His younger brother struggled to keep up with him. Those short legs could only move so fast with the longer ones.

 _Confusion. Desperation. Fear._ Those were the painful emotions everyone felt at the time, but they would eventually morph into something different in Tadashi.

The flames had completely consumed the showcase hall. Fire burned everything as the debris started to fall. Tadashi was running and focusing on the exit so much that he didn't notice the large rubble falling above. Hiro did. He smaller boy let go of his brother's hand because of it, letting Tadashi's grasp slip and make him fall away from the fallen concrete. He landed on the hot floor harshly, getting a scrape on his right shoulder.

When he got up, he couldn't see Hiro. Was he trapped in the debris? Or was he behind it? He hoped it was the latter and tried to move the heavy material away trying to find his precious younger brother. He could barely move any of them, but the panic and desire to save Hiro made the adrenaline give him strength. He couldn't focus on anything else. He couldn't see the flames or hear his friends screaming at him to leave. His mind was solely on saving his brother. He had lost too many family members already. Tadashi didn't think he could bear losing another.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Gogo and Wasabi started dragging him to the exit. Tadashi struggled against them, calling Hiro's name, but he wasn't strong enough to escape their grasp. Only seconds after they got out, there was an explosion and the flames blazed with intense and destructive heat. No one could get inside now. There was no way Hiro could have survived.

Tadashi stared at the burning building.

 _Powerless. Weak._ That was what he was.

After anxiously waiting for days, desperately hoping Hiro would return, Tadashi was told that they found Hiro dead under the rubble he was so urgently trying to remove. His hope had been crushed to a thousand pieces and painful emotions replaced the constricting grasp on his heart. It became a pang that twisted his heart so hard he was barely breathing. He wished the debris had protected his brother instead of crushing him to death, but his mind gave his heart a thought eased the pain ever so slightly.

' _At least Hiro didn't die a painful death. At least he was spared from the tortures of the flames_.'

He couldn't tell if that was a happy or dim thought, but it made it a little easier to breathe. His friends helped as well. The company of people he loved really made it better. They would visit him as often as they could and try to get him to do something or talk to him, giving advice or saying something amusing to make him feel better. They even sent him a cute video where Fred made a funny superhero comment. He would let out a small smile at their actions. They really cared for him and he loved them for it. He could never blame them for making him leave Hiro. They were just trying to protect him and there was nothing he could do. There just wasn't enough time.

 _Time._ That was a horrible word to Tadashi's ears.

He felt like he had in despair forever and it wouldn't go away. He just didn't have enough time to save Hiro. Tadashi had could no longer spend time with his baby brother. Hiro, poor Hiro, no longer had any time to live, to be happy, to be with him. He was too young to be given such a fate. It wasn't fair. Nothing was fair. Time wasn't fair at all.

Tadashi shook his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts, and looked up. He saw his brother's side of the room. Hiro's robots, his computer, his bed, his books were all still there. Hiro. Hiro. Hiro. He turned away. It all reminded Tadashi of his little brother and it was tearing him apart. ' _Damn it. I can't stay like this forever_.'

He looked back and the pang returned as powerful as ever. Tadashi sighed grimly and looked down, his expression pained.

"Unbelievable…"

* * *

A teen in black clothing with indigo and red armor stared down from the high cliff, a hand resting on his matching metal belt pouch, multiple buttons waiting to be touched. Everything was destroyed, turned to dust and leaving a desolate waste land. He watched the wind through the visor of his black helmet as it carried the black dust away, the teen's black memory stick necklace swinging with it. The sunset, though nearly gone, could still bring out the loneliness and barrenness of this apocalyptic world.

The teen sighed. To think this place was the bright city of San Fransokyo just four years ago. He could still remember the lights and the people of that place, the memories being both bad and good. They were gone now. He would never see the balloons fly in the sky or his friends ever again. He would never see the brimming city lights or his family.

 _Loneliness. Isolation._ The teen hated those feelings. He had hoped he would never feel them again, but fate wasn't going to allow it.

He kicked a rock off the cliff with his black steel-toe sneaker. It was a long way down. Trailing the barren wasteland, the teen saw the black mountain in the distance. It was the place where his current enemy was. There, that demon was likely building up his army after he destroyed most of them from the last attack. However he was making them, it had to be bad to turn a whole mountain black.

The armored young man looked behind him to the last of the human race. There were around one hundred and forty-two million survivors that had gathered from all over the world. He had managed to build them a dome with force fields to protect them, to grow food and build homes. He had appointed a leader to them and gave them plans for the future for when he destroyed the enemy or if he died. The people didn't want him to fight alone, they worried about their hero, but he refused. He had lost too many comrades already and he couldn't bear to grieve again. They understood. Everyone on this earth was broken from loss and suffering, but his sacrifice would hurt nonetheless.

 _Hopeless. Sorrow._ Everyone in this desolate earth felt it, even the hero, but he at least figured out how to help everyone move on and live again.

Now, after making sure everyone would be okay without him, the young hero knew it was time to take down his adversary. The people were still in danger as long as that fiend was around and he needed to avenge his family and friends. With those thoughts in mind and the weight of millions of people on his shoulders, he stepped off the edge.

As he fell, he activated his suit, deep blue lights moving all over his body. Black electro-magnetic wheels formed and rested on his hands and ankles like shields. The lone hero flipped and started riding down the vertical cliff, leaving a trudge on the rock. Ten feet from the ground, he jumped and landed with ease. He started to haste his way to the black mountain with incredible speed.

It wasn't long before he reached the base, where robotic soldiers started to attack, energy beams flying in the teen's direction. However, with his visor, the fast electro-magnetic wheels and a quick mind, he easily dodged the attacks. He activated another weapon. His wheels weren't going to be strong enough to destroy these obstacles. The metal was just too hard.

Laser induced plasma blades formed and he wasted no time slicing any machine in his way as more and more kept coming, marching down the mountain like ants while arming themselves with steel swords and shooting beams. With every destroyed soldier, they exploded, much to his satisfaction. He wasn't going to let these things exist and risk being remade by someone else. He spun, slashed, kicked and destroyed the robots. It hadn't even been an hour when he had completely destroyed every robot outside.

Though he wrecked every single one with a straight face and a sensible reason, he would be lying if he said that he didn't hate these things. They were the weapons that killed his friends, so naturally, there was resentment. However, he knew deep down that it wasn't their fault. They had no emotions or choices. Deep down, behind the wall of hatred and pity, his hated for his adversary grew in the shadows.

Slicing the last robot and avoiding the explosion, the teen made his way up the mountain to a cave, avoiding a toxic, silver liquid. It put shivers down his spine, but he tried not to think about it. He glared at the entrance into the mountain and ran, his black electro wheels speeding him up to the top. Avoiding the perking rocks, he reached the entrance with impeccable swiftness. His eyes held a cool stare as he entered the mountain, taking in the sight.

There was no sign of the natural rock anywhere. The walls had been completely covered by metal and it had an even cooler chill compared to the outside. The shine of silver and the cold air made him briefly think of ice, but it soon vanished when he decided ice was much prettier than this metal cave. Lights trailed the roof in a straight line as if from a mine, but the young hero knew there were no jewels in this place.

He turned his gaze to the sides of the hall. The cracks made were very suspicious. The young hero's eyes narrowed and got into position, ready to race down the passage. Blasting off, he zoomed down the hall, dodging the suddenly appearing robots that emerged through the wall violently, trying to stop him. They couldn't catch him. The hero was too fast, but that didn't stop them from chasing him.

Turning and turning and racing, the indigo teen finally saw a panel and an open door. Pushing himself to go faster, he reached the panel and pressed the correct sequence of buttons before racing through the passage as the door slammed behind him. He heard the machines crash before an explosion occurred on the other side, making the hero flinch and turn away, dashing once again.

The indigo hero stopped when he saw more bizarre cracks.

"Argh, I can't take much more of these things," he said to himself, groaning in irritation. He had destroyed so many already. Just how many more were there?

Looking around, the teen searched for a new way around, hoping to avoid triggering the robots hiding in the walls. He groaned to himself as he realized something he should have done earlier. He pressed some buttons on his metal pouch and an orb emerged. The young hero threw it to the floor and watched as thick ice filled the corridor, freezing everything behind the walls in place.

"I can't believe I didn't do that earlier. I guess adrenaline is a double-edged sword," he scolded himself, walking on. It was smooth sailing from there, nothing came to try and stop him, though he did have to throw a new orb every time he needed to turn a corner. After careful walking and many turns, the young hero found what he was looking for: his nemesis…

Seishin, the spirit of despair. Or at least that's what everyone called him.

 _Loathing. Concern. Anger. Dread._ Those were the feelings that grasped the indigo hero's heart once he saw the fiend.

But of course, this was no fiend. In the spherical room, stood a man. Seishin was much taller than the young hero, which always made the indigo boy jealous. He seemed much stronger than the young hero with large muscles and piercing black eyes, a glint of madness flashing inside them. The man had his arms crossed as he looked up at a crystalized element being held in a machine above him, looking sinister in his charcoal suit with a shiny black plating of armor as he stood in front of a grey panel.

The taller male with short white hair put a hand on his eyes, covering the insane glint. "Why do you continuously try to stop me?!"

The indigo hero looked at the machine before staring back at his nemesis. "Because you're hurting people. You mustn't mess with things we do not yet comprehend. You've killed billions trying to-!"

"Shut up! You don't understand anything!" Seishin took out twin plasma guns and started shooting at the boy in indigo, but he couldn't hit him, the hero was too fast. Activating the security on the panel, the villain made whips of plasma try to grab the indigo hero. Dodging with twisting flexibility, the hero continued to evade the attacks from the system and the shots from Seishin.

"I understand your motivation, but it doesn't justify killing billions of people to get what you want! No reasoning can defend killing the lives of countless families!" the teen yelled at the top of his lungs, activating a plasma sword and pressing a few buttons to get a few orbs. He began to move faster, gliding along the walls as he froze the security system with the orbs. When the system was taken care of, he jumped off the walls, aiming to tackle Seishin. His opponent flinched at his action and stepped back instinctively. He tried to shoot the young hero, but he was tackled before he could pull the trigger. He growled as he realized there was a plasma sword in both his guns.

Both of them were panting, the teen's breathes were more deep though. "I…Everyone understands, but we know when things are being taken too far…"

Seishin glared with a snarl. "There's no such thing as taking it too far!"

The man kicked the indigo teen off of him and flipped. The hero stumbled a little, trying to regain his footing and posture. His plasma swords blazed while the disks hummed in anticipation, ready to attack if Seishin did anything funny. The teen sighed. "Stop this. You can't beat me without your army."

Seishin looked at the indigo boy with fires of hatred swirling in his insane black eyes. He loathed this boy and he wasn't going to let him get what he wanted. After all, the hero was preventing him from getting what he wanted. He sneered and pulled out another gun, though it was smaller than the others, and pointed it at the teen. The smaller boy raised his guard and readied himself. Seishin's eyes narrowed.

Suddenly, the villain did something the hero didn't expect. He pointed the gun at the shining crystal in the machine and fired. As the boy moved to stop him, crying out, a light enveloped them and darkness took over them.

* * *

When the indigo hero woke up, he groaned, feeling the soft-ish plastic beneath him. He opened his eyes and looked around. Immediately, his eyes widened with horror. Confusion enveloped his mind like he was stuck in a world with no up or down. All around him were lights brightening up the night sky and buildings, but not just any buildings. They were buildings from the old San Fransokyo, looking just the way he remembered it with its familiar structures and balloons, one of which he had been sleeping on.

Too shocked to move and too confused to think right, the young man said the only thing that he could.

"…U-Unbelievable."

* * *

 **Apologies for any bad grammar. I'm not every good at catching my own mistakes.**

 **"U-Um, Miss Pure..."**

 **"Hm? What is it?"**

 **"...How do I get down?"**

 **"..."**


	2. Chapter 2: Black

**Chapter 2: Black**

Tadashi twisted and turned under his sheets. The sun was telling him that he should get up, but he honestly didn't want to. He was tormented by the nightmares of Hiro's death last night and was not ready to face the light of day yet. He winced when he recalled those nightmares. Tadashi was left terrified by those images. They made him scream in horror. The images of his little brother being crushed by the rubble made him cry. The images of Hiro burning alive made him feel his brother's pain and scream the younger boy's name.

The older Hamada lifted the covers over his face before crying his tears of despair. He hated this. He hoped after that the death of his parents he would never have to feel so helpless, lonely and sad again. It felt like fragments of his world were constantly being taken from him. And now a huge piece had just been forcefully ripped from his life. Tadashi whimpered as he felt the hollowness in his heart.

He poked his head from the covers and looked at the window, trailing the rays of sun to parts of the room. While the rays were peaceful and calming, they did not stop him from flinching at the sight of Hiro's unused side of the room. Hiro wasn't there. Hiro was never going to be there anymore. Tadashi shook his head, trying to suppress the feelings being brought from his reality.

Slowly getting out of bed, he walked over to Hiro's computer. It was off. He liked it better when the computer was on and his brother was in front of it, working on some amazing invention like he used to. Tadashi absentmindedly pressed the on button and watched the screen light up. He blinked slowly when the screen revealed a video message. It was from his friends.

" _Hey, Tadashi,_ " all of them greeted, waving.

" _We just wanted to check in and see how you were doing,_ " Honey Lemon informed, smiling sadly.

" _Wish you were here, buddy._ "

" _Tadashi, if I could have a superpower right now, it would be the ability to crawl through this camera and give you a big hug._ "

Gogo was about to say something, but before her words could be heard, Tadashi turned the computer back off. The black haired boy turned away from the computer, digesting his friends' words and thought deeply about his own feelings. Groaning, Tadashi collapsed on Hiro's bed and put an arm over his face, covering his eyes. Getting the arm off, he looked up at the ceiling.

"I shouldn't do this. I shouldn't torture myself like this."

He sat up, eyebrows furrowed, just like they had been for a long time now. Tadashi knew staying in his room was not going to help him. These last few weeks proved that even though he didn't feel like going anywhere, staying would only haunt him with the memory of his younger brother. That void in his heart seemed to grow larger here rather than make it smaller. Aunt Cass couldn't help. He doubted his friends could. The only one who could get him out of the darkness in his heart was him.

Slowly, he left the house, passing his aunt with eyes void of emotion and movements that made him look dead. The sun hurt his eyes when he stepped outside and unsteadily walked, ignoring the cries of his mother figure. His mind didn't wander around the area, looking around for a place to rest his sore body or think of where he wanted to go. Shopping, food, those things weren't on his mind at the moment.

Tadashi's mind was so empty that the pains in his heart made him see white. The sun's rays seemed so bright, even the shadows of buildings and people didn't disturb the blank whiteness that Tadashi saw. Everything else was invisible to him. The people were non-existent. The stores were gone. The sky had no colour to make him marvel at its vast grace. There were no clouds to spark any imagination, much less thought. He was probably so out of it, he couldn't even tell if he was bumping into these invisible people.

However, he could see the sidewalk as it blurred into small coloured shadows. He could see them as they revealed where he could go, how his path could go in different directions. The black haired student wasn't sure which way to go when he saw two paths, sometimes there were even three. He merely stared at them. A path to the right, a path to the left, a path that led forwards, which one was he supposed to take?

That question only lasted for a fraction of a second. Tadashi's mind was so numb that all he needed was a bump from another person to make him go down a path. Sometimes, no one hit him at all and he merely went forwards. He honestly didn't mind this emptiness of mind. At home, all he could do was think, reminiscing the memories of Hiro constantly. Those memories used to be so comforting, but now they were beautiful daggers that pricked him every time he touched them. The void in his heart responded to his memories, shooting him with a coursing pain.

Suddenly, Tadashi tripped, finding himself landing on metal.

Tadashi blinked as he felt the cold metal. Unexpectedly, the metal started moving. Tadashi blinked some more as he felt wind touch his face with a soothing kindness. Looking around, colour slowly started entering his vision again. That was when he noticed he was on a cable car. He felt the void soften as he stared down at the moving road. It reminded him of water. It was just very dark…like Hiro's hair.

The brunet shook his head vigorously. ' _If even a road is going to make me upset, I'm in big trouble_.'

Tadashi looked forward, holding the railing. He watched as the car moved up the hill, giving the brunet a good look at the town. He could see building upon building upon building. The sun was gentler when he was under the shelter of the car's roof. The blue sky seemed to call out to him as the wind blew softly…Wait, blue…Hiro loved that colour.

He shook his head violently again. ' _I have to stop doing that. I'm out here to try and come to grips with this, not make it worse!_ '

Ignoring his previous thoughts, Tadashi looked on, letting the wind comfort him. For a moment, the black haired boy felt like he could fly in this light wind. He could imagine himself as a bird flying around the city lights and see the city from miles away in the sky. He wished he could. He wanted to reach the heavens. He wanted it so badly.

Tadashi wanted freedom from the harshness of this life. He wanted to go high in the sky! He wanted to be closer to Hi-!

Suddenly, the cable car stopped, making Tadashi snap out of his wish and reach for the railing. The gentle wind stopped, leaving him. People started moving to get off, avoiding the college student as they did. Tadashi didn't pay attention to them. His eyes were on his hand, which he found had somehow reached up to the deep blue sky without him knowing. It started to shake as tears filled his eyes. A few passerbys stared at him as he placed his arms over his eyes.

Tadashi wiped the tears and got off the cable car. Looking up, he saw a staircase with a yellow line. The dark haired student decided to go up and see what was there. Slowly going up, he made it to the top and entered the crowd. Suddenly, he was overwhelmed by the chatter from the mob of people. It was noisy, too noisy. It was too much. It hurt. So many people, just talking like nothing was wrong with this world. It hurt. The loneliness was enveloping him again with the constricting power of a boa. He needed to get out.

The college student moved forward, heading to the exit and into shadows. He ran, not really noticing where he was going. Tadashi was entranced by the fast movements he was making as the wind seemed to return. However, it wasn't as soft. It was erratic and his staggering movements made it hard for the brunet to see the sky above him with enough clarity to be hypnotized by it. Losing energy, he started to slow down, making him notice where he was.

Tadashi found he was in an alleyway. He looked around at the grey buildings and the trash lying on the ground. It gave an ominous feeling. Tadashi groaned. This place reminded him of all the places Hiro used to bot fight at. How Hiro could enter such places so fearlessly? Huh, no pain there. Tadashi definitely didn't miss this part of Hiro...Of course…he would accept the bot fighting if that meant Hiro could live again.

The black haired boy shook his head, trying to get rid of those wishes. Looking around some more, Tadashi saw a staircase. It was dark, but he felt a spark of interest light up inside him. Letting curiosity take him by the hand, he went down the stairs. When he reached the end of the stairs, he left the shadows of buildings and came across the light. Before him, he could see what he could only assume was an abandoned warehouse. The wired fence was wide open and the pavement was ripped up. The bricks of the building were old with a dull brown. You could feel the ancientness of the place, despite the distance. Closing this distance, Tadashi walked towards the place, staring at the broken windows. Had he been younger and his brother was next to him, he might actually suggest that they turn this place into their secret hiding spot. But being the adult college student he was, he felt no desire to anywhere near this place.

As he reached the doors, he saw a rusty lock with chains. Tadashi adjusted his cap before touching the piece of metal and pulling on it slightly. "Locked…"

Suddenly, Tadashi heard sounds. Raising an eyebrow, he tried to make out what they were, leaning his head against the door. There was yelling, but they were incoherent. He could also hear clangs of metal colliding together and crashes. Was someone fighting? That desire to help took over his mind and heart as he tried to force the lock open. When that didn't work, he looked around for another entrance. There didn't seem to be another way inside. However, there were the windows, but the problem with that idea was he had no clue how to get up there. It was much too high.

Before he could think more about getting inside, it seemed the battle decided to come to him instead. Once he heard something explode near the roof, Tadashi looked up and saw a mass of black attacking a distant figure. The figure sliced the approaching black with some very familiar blades. They were Wasabi's plasma lasers. How did this person get them?

Hitting the last attempt at his life, the figure let himself fall, seemingly pressing something on his pouch. Tadashi couldn't tell what he was doing, but when the figure got a ball of sorts and threw it to the ground, the college student suddenly felt a sense of deja vu as a soft blob appeared. The figure landed on it. However, Tadashi was caught off guard when this strange person bounced off the blob and unintentionally landed on him. From the scream in the voice, the black haired student could tell this was a boy…This scream…also sounded…familiar.

"Urgh, ow. Sorry about that." the mysterious boy groaned. Tadashi opened his eyes as he tried to forget the pain he was in. This strange person was wearing a black helmet with red and dark blue lines, a dark visor covering his eyes. Adjusting himself so he could sit up, he noticed that the other wore a matching suit and metal tipped sneakers. However, what really caught Tadashi's eyes was the technology. This person was wearing a pouch with the periodic table on it, machinery on his arms that reminded him of Wasabi's experiments, and Gogo's maglev discs that were next to the boy's ankles and wrists, only black. This guy had all of his friends' experiments. Did he steal them? What the hell was going on?

Tadashi's thought of possibly being tackled by a criminal was forgotten when the other looked at him, holding his head. Through the dark visor, Tadashi could have sworn he saw familiar brown eyes. Those eyes widened in horror and confusion when they landed on the college student.

"Y-You…How…No, it's not possible! What's going on?!" the suited boy exclaimed with a young voice as he immediately stood up, backing away from Tadashi nervously. The college student gave him a confused look.

"Wh-What are y-?" Before Tadashi could finish his question, the mass of black was back as it crawled through every hole in the building. Both of them turned to the clacking sounds of…microbots. Tadashi's eyes immediately widened. "My brother's microbots?!"

The suited boy grasped onto Tadashi's hand. "Grab onto me! We have to get out of here!"

Suddenly, Tadashi found himself being pulled onto the other's back. The boy in black must have activated Gogo's maglev discs because suddenly, Tadashi found himself speeding around alleyways, holding onto the other by the neck. He marveled at how fast they were going. When he turned his head back, he saw a man in the microbots. This second mysterious person was wearing a kabuki mask and black clothes. He was menacing as he ordered the microbots to attack them. However, the indigo stranger was too fast and easily dodged. Tadashi winced as buildings and garbage bins sounded their destruction. This alley was very cramped.

"Why aren't we heading for the police?!"

"Do you honestly think they can help with this, much less believe it?! Besides, people will get hurt!" Tadashi couldn't deny that, but he really felt like they needed help from someone.

"Damn, I can't fight like this." the indigo suited boy cursed, panting a little as they turned another corner. That was when Tadashi noticed he was riding on someone with a smaller build than him. The black haired boy felt bad for burdening the other like this. However, the smaller boy seemed okay with helping him. Looking around, the boy in indigo maneuvered into a sunny area and pressed some buttons on his pouch. It was so fast Tadashi had no idea what the smaller boy pressed. Before he could ask, the suited boy threw a clear ball to the ground. It exploded into white smoke, surrounding them.

The man in the kabuki mask stopped, looking around. As quickly as it appeared, the smoke cleared and the microbot user found himself alone. He looked around, making the microbots move him higher so he might spot his prey. Folding his hands into a fist grudgingly, he turned and moved away.

Once the man with the kabuki mask was gone, a crack was heard. Suddenly, a fist appeared, coming from what appeared was nothing. More cracks were heard and suddenly, an invisible structure collapsed, revealing a wide eyed college student and a panting superhero. Tadashi looked at the boy beside him. This person made a dome that acted as a cloaking device. How on earth did he do it?! He had never seen such a thing. He couldn't believe it. Shaking his head, he focused on more important matters.

"Hey! Why do you have my friends' tech?! Who was that guy?! Why does he have my brother's microbots?!" Tadashi exclaimed, demanding answers from the smaller boy.

The boy in indigo was silent. He stood up unsteadily and then leant Tadashi a hand. The black haired student took it and the suited boy helped him up before staring at his face. They weren't quite at eye level. This boy was only up to Tadashi's nose. Looking closer, he noticed sorrow and loneliness in the other's eye. If there were any other things on that face, Tadashi couldn't see them. He soon found he didn't care if he couldn't see the rest of the smaller boy's face. The black haired boy was mesmerized by that one eye. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't stop looking into it. For a second, Tadashi detected a hint of relief and happiness in it.

But the boy suddenly closed his brown eyes and turned away, walking.

"Wait!" Tadashi pleaded, trying to grasp his hand, but the other didn't listen. He simply speeded away on the maglev discs and disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3: Parallel Worlds

**Chapter 3: Parallel Worlds**

After seeing the boy in indigo disappear on Gogo's maglev discs, Tadashi suddenly felt worried. If this guy had his friends' experiments, what did that mean for his friends? Anxiety and fear filled him as adrenaline controlled his movements. He ran to the nerd lab, getting lost a little along the way. Turning and twisting, he found the market square again and quickly went home for his scooter.

After that, it was smooth sailing to the SFIT. Avoiding all the bad roads and busy highways, he zoomed through the streets of San Fransokyo. When he reached SFIT, he quickly parked and ran inside. Making his way through the grey-white halls, he rushed to the Nerd lab, doing his best to avoid the students passing by and giving his strange looks, staring at the bizarre determination and fear in his steps. He was sweating and panting when he found his friends standing in the lab. They turned to him with curious faces.

"Tadashi, hi! It's good to see you up and around!" Honey Lemon greeted.

"Dude, you look horrible. Are you okay?" Fred asked.

Wasabi nodded. "Yeah, man. What happened?"

Tadashi stared at them. Everyone was okay. Relief washed over him as he smiled with a sigh, happy to see them. Gogo smirked.

"Haven't seen that handsome smile in a while. But seriously, you looked pretty shaken up back there. What is it?" the black haired girl asked.

Tadashi looked around, trying to see if anything was out of place. Aside from the fact that no one else was here, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. He turned to his friends, approaching them and moving away from the entrance. "Guys, you weren't robbed of anything, right? Nothing is missing and you didn't see anyone suspicious."

The students looked at each other as Fred stared, bewildered. Then they turned back to him with eyes of concern.

"No, we haven't lost anything or seen anyone strange." Honey Lemon replied.

Tadashi looked at them with furrowed brows. "Then…who was that guy? And how did he get your inventions?"

"What are you talking about?" Fred asked, feeling very lost.

"There's this guy in black and deep blue that was fighting this other guy who was wearing a mask and he was using your inventions! Not only that, the other guy was using my brother's microbots to attack us! I was lucky that the guy who was using your inventions saved me from the masked guy's attacks!"

"What? That doesn't make sense. How did he get our research? It's not like its common knowledge. Also, Hiro's microbots? They were destroyed in the fire. There's no way for anyone to use or duplicate them." Gogo commented.

"I-I don't know…But you have to believe me!"

"How are we supposed to believe that? We don't exactly have any evidence to convince us." Wasabi said, teaming with Gogo's suspicions.

"I believe him." Honey Lemon said with confidence.

Tadashi looked at the other girl with wide eyes. "Really?"

"What? You can't be serious." Gogo said, narrowing her eyes at the honey-blonde disbelievingly.

Honey Lemon's brows furrowed at Gogo's reaction, fidgeting. "I am."

"Why?" Wasabi asked.

"Because Tadashi has never lied to us before…"

Everyone turned to Fred, who had replied for his supporting friend. Honey Lemon smiled brightly at him in thanks. However, Gogo and Wasabi had to think about Fred's words. It was true. Tadashi hadn't lied before. He wouldn't say something ridiculous just for the hell of it. He always thought of others. But the idea that people were fighting with their tech was unimaginable. They would have had to perfect it before they did and somehow reconfigure it to meet fighting means. The only one smart enough to do that was Hiro and he was…

"Damn, it's hard to fight that reason…" Wasabi surrendered.

"I still can't quite grasp this. With so many questions, this still seems too unbelievable."

Suddenly, Fred seemed semi-serious with a confident look. "Oh, I don't know about that."

"Huh?" Tadashi was confused by the change in attitude.

Wasabi sweat dropped. "Fred, I don't know what you're thinking, but-"

"No, no, this idea isn't as crazy as you think!"

"If you think-" Gogo started, but was cut off by Honey Lemon.

"Now, now, let's just hear him out."

The black haired girl groaned. "Fine. What's your idea Fred?"

"Okay, okay, how does this sound? Yokai-!"

"Who's Yokai?" Tadashi interrupted.

"The masked guy!"

Gogo raised a brow, turning to the blazer wearer. "What's Yokai mean again?"

"It means ghost or demon."

"…"

"Anyway! Yokai obviously stole your brother's microbots and caused the fire to cover his tracks!" Fred said enthusiastically, confident in his deduction.

Everyone was silent. However, Gogo, Wasabi and Honey Lemon winced in their quietness. Mentioning the fire in front of Tadashi was not the best idea. It was careless. Gogo immediately went up and smacked Fred on the head. The brunet yelped, touching his hurting head. He didn't get to complain as the black haired girl grabbed his head and directed it towards Tadashi. Fred immediately figured out what he did wrong. Their friend was staring down slightly, a look of shock written on his face. His eyes moved slightly and quickly as if calculating every word Fred had said in his head. His hands suddenly clenched, eyes closing. When he opened his eyes, they were filled with rage, growling.

"…So you're telling me…my brother is _dead_ because of this _Yokai_."

Their friend's voice was so dark it made Gogo let their comic enthusiast go in her fear. Fred gulped before whimpering. "I-It's just an assumption."

"No, you're right. That fire wasn't an accident. There's no way that fire was simply a coincidence if that guy has Hiro's microbots. He's responsible for Hiro!" Tadashi growled. He looked up at his stunned friends. They had never seen him so angry before. It was scary. The black haired boy ignored the looks and said with resolution, "We've gotta catch that guy!"

Everyone immediately went up to him, worry in their voices and caution in their movements, though Gogo merely glared, angry with this new side of Tadashi.

"No, Tadashi, we shouldn't! That guy tried to kill you! It's too dangerous!" Wasabi shouted.

"We know you're upset about Hiro, but you're not thinking straight! We're just college students. We can't fight someone so powerful!" Tadashi wanted to object to Wasabi and Honey Lemon's words, but his friends weren't giving him a chance.

"Besides, Black Iris is on the case! He'll seek justice for you!"

Everyone stopped in their tracks, staring at the comic book fan in incomprehension.

"What?" Gogo questioned, losing her glare to a look of confusion.

"What?" Fred questioned back.

"Who's Black Iris?" asked Honey Lemon.

"The anti-hero!" Fred replied enthusiastically.

"Stop giving weird nicknames to people we don't know!" Gogo yelled. "What kind of a name is Black Iris, anyway?"

"Black is what anti-heroes usually wear: Batman, Catwoman, etc. As for the iris part…"

Wasabi face palmed as Fred seemed to struggle with words. "…You made it up."

"Flowers represent stuff! He could be very deep for all we know!"

"Are you sure using black is right? I mean, he's wearing that deep blue too. I think the correct term is indigo though. Indigo Iris could probably be his name." Honey Lemon suggested.

"Nah, that doesn't sound nearly as epic as Black Iris! Leave the superhero names to me!"

"I think you mean nicknames." Wasabi corrected.

Tadashi rolled his eyes at his friends' antics, laughing a little and letting himself calm down. "Okay, guys, that's enough. We need to focus."

Everyone looked away from Fred and back to Tadashi. All of them looked worried about him, making the black haired boy feel bad. He didn't want them to worry.

"Tadashi, we don't want you to get hurt. Fred's right. This Black Iris character seems to be a good person. He protected you. He can take on Yokai. We should just wait." Honey Lemon said.

"You're right, I know he can do it. I saw it myself. All I did was be a burden. But I want to do somethi-!"

There was a stomach growl, making Tadashi blush and stop mid-sentence. Wasabi's eyes widened while Gogo and Honey Lemon turned to each other. Fred was trying to hold in his laughter. He didn't need to once Gogo gave him a look that told him that this wasn't actually funny. The black haired girl turned to Tadashi.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"…I can't remember."

Wasabi stretched and said, "Looks like we're going to the cafeteria."

* * *

Black Iris ran. This wasn't real. It couldn't be true. How was this possible?! Tadashi Hamada was dead. He died five years ago in the fire! Just how far back in time did he time did he travel anyway?! He shook his head. No. Five years ago, Yokai appeared and stole the microbots. He just battled that guy exactly where he was supposed to be. There was no way he traveled more than five years. ' _Damn, I'm so confused_.'

The indigo hero stopped when he knew there was no way for Tadashi to catch or find him. He wasn't sure what was going on, but caution told him to stay away from other people for now. Panting, he pressed a button on his arm. The fabric of suit started moving, turning into a deep blue jacket with black on the inside. His armour and helmet started moving as well, transforming into parts of his jacket. They morphed into metal bracelets on his ankles and wrists, some of the armour wrapping around his neck like a collar. It resembled the black memory stick hanging from his neck. They were all black, but unlike the memory stick, they had green and yellow gems in them. His pouch used some of his armour to hide the orange periodic table, making it look somewhat normal.

Beneath his jacket was a red shirt with a brown-red pattern. What also used to be under the suit was a pair of beige capri shorts. The shirt and shorts were slightly ripped, but it wasn't too bad. Black Iris patted his clothes down, trying to put them back in place. After straightening himself out, he entered the crowd.

Black Iris looked around. It had been so long since he had seen these stores. They perked up a sense of nostalgia. He was simply so happy to see everything as it once was that had there been no one around, he might have danced in the streets. He missed these bright blue skies. The wind was so fresh he would have loved to fly in them like a bird.

However, all those ideas were thrown out the window when he smelled something delicious. Black Iris sighed in content, wanting to bite into whatever was creating this wonderful scent. Sadly, he didn't have any money, so getting some was impossible. The young hero groaned. He wanted some food so bad. He hadn't eaten since he came here. It was making his stomach growl. But he knew he couldn't afford it, so he would have to starve.

Trying to ignore his need for food, Black Iris made his way to the SFIT library. He needed answers and maybe the some of them could be found online. He already had an idea in his head, but he didn't want to believe it. He refused to acknowledge it at all until he found the final proof. For all he knew, the Tadashi at the warehouse was just a hallucination from lack of food.

Black Iris began to speed walk, freaking out inside. In his rush, he heard the distant sounds of sparks flying and a few shrieks of surprise, but he ignored them. He was solely focused on confirming his suspicion. The young man prayed he was wrong, because if he was, then things have become much more complicated.

Making his way up the stairs, he walked down the while-grey halls of the school. Walking casually and locking his growing chaotic emotions away, Black Iris convinced everyone, especially the professors, that he studied here. He didn't want any trouble. He did, however, catch the attention of a few girls. They whispered to each other as they stared at him, a few blushing. The boy in indigo groaned. He wasn't expecting this. He didn't think he was cute or handsome enough for this kind of attention. He could only hope they didn't figure out he didn't go here and tell a teacher about it.

Eventually, Black Iris made it to the library. He quickly made it to the computer section of the place and searched for a computer that someone hadn't logged out of. He had no username or password, so getting online by himself was out of the question. He had to count on people's forgetfulness. The young hero eventually spotted one in the third row of computers and quickly made his way to it.

Once he sat down, he quickly went to Google and said nervously, "Google, search: 'San Fransokyo Institute of Technology Fire.'"

 _Searching: San Fransokyo Institute of Technology Fire…_ It said.

A spinning circle appeared and soon gave him the results. The first site that was given was a newspaper article. Black Iris pressed it, gulping as he watched the circle return. When the page appeared, he hastily read what had been written, only to widen his eyes in horror. He read and reread the article, making sure he wasn't losing his mind.

"The victims of this tragedy, Robert Callaghan and Hiro Hamada…"

Hiro was dead and Tadashi was alive…? That wasn't right. Tadashi was supposed to be dead and Hiro was supposed to be alive. He should have seen Hiro at Yokai's warehouse. But instead it was Tadashi. He was alive. He survived…While tears filled his eyes, his mind concluded one thing.

' _I didn't just travel through time. I traveled though parallel worlds as well!_ '

All the emotions he had been trying to hold back suddenly exploded on him. He couldn't understand what he was going on. Fear, anxiety, confusion, worry, all of them took over and made his mind whirl. Suddenly, the computer sparked and, a moment later, exploded. It wasn't just his computer though. Everyone's tech sparked and broke. People screamed and ran, dragging Black Iris into the panic.

' _What's going on?!_ ' he thought helplessly as he looked back.

* * *

Tadashi and his friends had finished their snack, though Tadashi had more of a meal. He hadn't eaten in what felt like a long time. It was refreshing to have a full, healthy meal again. However, no matter how nice it was, it didn't distract him from the fact that his brother's murderer was still out there. He wanted to do something, but he was partially afraid. It didn't help that there was a lingering question in his head.

' _What can I do?_ '

He was a normal college student. The black haired boy could only do so much. He wasn't a genius like Hiro. He didn't have amazing gadgetry or fighting skills like Black Iris. He was trapped in the comforts of his every day, average life. ' _Maybe I should just give up and wait. Everyone is right. Black Iris can ta-_ '

Suddenly, there was a crowd of running people. Looking very confused, Tadashi looked at every person that ran by. Beside him, his friends wore the same bewildered look.

"I wonder what happened…" Honey Lemon said, bringing a hand to her chest.

Fred said something and was smacked my Gogo in response, but Tadashi wasn't paying attention to his friends at the moment. His brown eyes were solely focused on a mop of messy black hair. That familiar hairstyle could only belong to one person and it made Tadashi's heart fill with aching hope.

"Hiro!"

"Huh?" the college student's friends said in unison.

Before they could stop him, Tadashi was running into the crowd, pushing people as he tried to make his way to the mass of messy black hair. While everyone was heading in the same direction, people weren't cooperating with the college student. Tadashi was moving faster than everyone else as his desperation to reach this person was slipping away. This person was maneuvering like he could predict the openings people would make and slip into the spaces like a ghost. It wasn't long for the person to disappear, leaving Tadashi alone in the crowd. The black haired boy fell to his knees, making people go around him. He wondered if it was all an illusion.

"Hiro…"

To Tadashi's friends, his voice and form was broken with helpless heartache.

* * *

 **Symbolism wise, an iris means "compliments, faith, wisdom, cherished friendship, hope, or valor". Black, in flowers, is generally associated with negative things, so a black iris represents an ended friendship, no more hope, or out of faith.**


	4. Chapter 4: Demons

**Chapter 4: Demons**

Tadashi collapsed on his bed, mentally and physically exhausted. His mind became completely blank again after seeing someone that had his brother's hairstyle. He couldn't even remember how he got home. ' _It was probably Wasabi's car_ ,' his mind provided in the back of his head. He paid the thought no mind and set his focus on the person he saw at the university.

After thinking back a little, he was probably imagining it, just thinking he saw what he wanted most. There was no way Hiro could be alive. No one could come back from the dead. He shouldn't have let wishful thinking get the better of him. Besides, to be able to see that familiar mop of hair was impossible. Hiro would have been too short to see in the crowd. Suddenly, upon reminding himself multiple times that Hiro was dead, Tadashi felt the void appear in his heart and mind again. The college student turned his head into his pillow, burying himself in it. He groaned.

' _I thought I was out of this state_ … _!_ '

That was when Tadashi realised something. Ever since Black Iris and Yokai's sudden appearance, he had not once entered this empty state. It was a perfect distraction. During this moment of freedom, he had let go of his pain. He was momentarily liberated from his despair. If it hadn't been for that person who reminded him of Hiro, he might still be free from his misery.

Tadashi growled, remembering Yokai and what he had done. How dare he. How dare he. _How dare he!_ That man, that accursed man, had stolen Hiro's creation and was using it for evil, an evil that destroyed his little brother. Rage grasped his heart. He was definitely going to catch this guy.

The dark haired man went on the computer. He knew he was going to need help and there were only a few people he knew that would help him. Calling his friends, Tadashi waited for them to answer. Gogo answered first, likely because she was doing designs and simulations on her laptop.

"Yup?" Gogo greeted, still looking at her simulations. Tadashi laughed uncertainly.

"I was hoping you'd help me, but I guess you're a little busy."

"Help you with what?" Honey Lemon chirped, only entering the conversation a few seconds after Gogo. Tadashi looked at her and saw Wasabi enter.

"What's up?" Wasabi asked.

"I've…decided I'm going to pursue Yokai."

"What?!"

"Why would you want to do that?! I thought we established that Black Iris could handle it!" Wasabi said frantically.

Gogo stopped following her work and gave a definite glare at Tadashi, saying warningly. "Tadashi…"

The black haired man flinched. That woman was so scary. He had to repeatedly remind himself that Gogo really was a good person inside…It was hard to stick to that belief with such an angry look on her face. ' _She's a nice person. She's a nice person. She's just thinking about what's best for me. She's a nice person_. _She's a nice person._ _She isn't really going to kill me_.'

As Tadashi repeatedly chanted those lines, he held a resolved gaze. Gogo continued her glare while Wasabi and Honey Lemon looked between the two on their screens. Honey Lemon wanted to help Tadashi. She would help him no matter what, but she wanted him to be safe too. Pursuing Yokai…who knew what would happen to them. However, looking into Tadashi's eyes, she found herself wanting to support him. As a result, Honey Lemon was torn between helping him and keeping him safe. She was unable to come up with a way to convince her friend that going after Yokai might not be the best idea. With an uncertain face, she decided to look back and forth between the angry Gogo and determined Tadashi, wondering who would win the staring contest.

Wasabi was freaking out. His friend was going insane from grief! They had to stop him. Looking at all his friends, he saw that his only true ally in all this was Gogo. Why did the scariest of their group have to be his ally? While she was going to be a great help, fear made her a double edged sword. In any case, he had to stop Tadashi…some…how. Tadashi, even though he was barely standing up to Gogo, didn't look like he was going to back down. It wasn't enough to make Wasabi give up though.

"Tadashi, I really think we just need to tell the police. I'm sure they and Black Iris can catch Yokai."

Tadashi tore away from Gogo's glare as if snapping out of a trance, blinking. However, the mention of the police made him quickly hold a serious gaze again.

 _Do you honestly think they can help with this, much less believe it?!_

"I really don't think they're going to believe me and Black Iris seemed pretty certain they wouldn't be much help either." Seeing the uncertainty in a lot of his friends faces, he sighed. "Look, I understand if you guys don't want to help me, but my brother's murderer is out there and I at least want to get some answers. I'm going to check the abandoned areas for Yokai and Black Iris. You can join me if you want, but I'm definitely going."

Tadashi rushed to end the call, avoiding the dark aura that quickly emerged from Gogo. That woman was a demon when she wanted to be and Tadashi didn't want to deal with it. He didn't want anyone to shake his resolve like a maraca until it broke under the crushing hand. However, the amount of aura he did absorb from the black haired girl made a shiver go down his spine, but it wasn't strong enough to make him reconsider his decision. Tadashi was going to figure out what was going on.

While he knew what he wanted to do, the college student still hadn't quite figured out how to do it. How were you supposed to find an anti-hero and a master criminal in a big city like San Fransokyo? He was hoping his friends would help him figure it out, but they were uncertain or downright against his idea…Tadashi raised an eyebrow. ' _Wait, Fred wasn't there_.'

Taking out his phone, he called the comic-lover. It wasn't answered right away, but when the waiting was over, the black haired boy was relieved to hear the enthusiastic voice.

" _Hey there, Tadashi! What's up?!_ " Tadashi smiled.

"Hi, Fred. I was thinking of looking for Black Iris and Yokai-"

" _Cool! I'm in!_ " Tadashi blinked at the quick reply, but he was soon beaming. Fred never failed to lighten things up or support someone. He laughed a little at the Fred's passion.

"Thanks. I really need help. I doubt I can find them alone."

"Well, I'd start with abandoned areas. Super villains like those, less of a chance of their being discovered. Super heroes like them too because that means less danger to other people." the brunet suggested with a serious look, though there were clear signs that Fred was happy.

"There are a lot of those, Fred. We can't-"

"No, there aren't as many now! You found them in the deserted part of downtown, right?" Tadashi nodded. "Then Yokai will have to move somewhere far away from there. He has to move from the center of San Fransokyo to somewhere outside of it." The black haired man blinked at the words of wisdom.

"…Wow. Okay. Um, I think I'll start with the old docks. It's usually empty. You want to meet up there?" Tadashi asked.

"Sure! I'll be there in twenty!" The robotics student let out a big smile. It felt good to have his support.

"See you then!"

* * *

Tadashi leaned against a large bin, looking out for Fred. The quietness of the area made the black haired man a little tense, afraid that something would jump from the shadows. A large wave hit with a large crash, making the college student flinch and look around. He peeked from the bin he was behind. ' _Argh, I'm scared Yokai is going to pop out of nowhere and kill me. Maybe this isn't a good idea. When Fred gets here, I'm going to ask how to find Black Iris…Wait. I wonder why Fred didn't mention anyt_ -"

Suddenly, Tadashi saw something that didn't look like a wave, the familiar clicks of microbots and unnatural waves filling the air. His eyes widened. In the dark waters, the black haired man saw his brother's murderer. The microbots lifted the man higher, looking large. Anger filled him and frustration constricted him. If only he had enough strength to take the mask wearer down. Tadashi looked around more, hoping Black Iris would come, defeat this villain and give him some answers.

Instead, Tadashi got the sight of Wasabi's van parking on his side of the bin, Baymax sitting on the roof with Tadashi's file shining on his stomach. The college student flinched. ' _No, no, no! Turn off the car! He's going to see you!_ ' Thankfully, as if hearing Tadashi's thoughts, the car turned off, making the headlights disappear. Everyone got out of the car.

"Sorry. I thought you called them." Fred apologized.

"Hello." Honey Lemon waved nervously.

"Dude, what are you doing out here? I think you should let Baymax scan you. Th-"

"Tadashi." Gogo growled as she exited the car. The people around her flinched. Baymax, on the other hand, ignored the angry woman and noted a change in Tadashi since his last scan.

"Tadashi, your heartrate is very fast. You are afraid."

"Yes, I am." the inventor confirmed. "You need to get out of here! Yokai is-"

"Holy mother of Megazord!"

Everyone and turned to where Fred was looking. They flinched at the sound of metal touching metal. Before them was Yokai, using the black microbots to lift a huge metal bin. Their eyes widened, instinctively backing away.

"Um, am I the only one seeing this?" the brunet asked his friends.

Honey, filled with so much shock at the sight, needed some form of confirmation of what she was seeing. And it was this need that compelled her to unconsciously take a picture of the villain. Yokai turned his eyes away from the bright flash. He twisted his head with a hint of insanity and anger. With that, he attacked, pushing the bin towards them with the intent to crush them.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Wasabi screamed, frozen in place by fear as everyone cowered.

Luckily for them, Black Iris finally appeared and zoomed towards the trembling group, pressing some buttons on his pouch. An icy blue ball emerged and he threw it to the ground in front of the bandana wearer, creating a barrier. With the great wall of ice blocking Yokai's way, the metal bin hit the ice with a huge thud, making the students turn their heads up to see it.

"Move! Hurry! Go!"

"Ah!" Honey Lemon squeaked.

No one took time to think about who was saying it, they simply did as told and rushed to the car just as the ice cracked and broke into thousands of pieces. However, when Tadashi looked back and saw Black Iris slash the microbots holding the bin with a plasma sword, he started to move closer, only to be pulled back by Gogo.

"No, no, no! What are you doing?!"

"I'm saving your life." Gogo said sternly, pushing him into the van with the others.

"Black Iris can handle that guy!" Tadashi yelled, gesturing at the fight.

A thud was heard and the group saw the indigo hero hurtling towards them. Noticing where he was going to land, the super hero turned off his disks, making the people in the car confused.

"Sorry about this, Baymax!"

"Oh no." the robot said.

Black Iris straightened his feet just before they hit Baymax's body, making the group inside flinch and close their eyes at the impact. He then bent his legs as he directed his rebound upwards. "Get away!"

At the sight of Yokai raising his army of microbots, they agreed with the advice.

"Wasabi," Honey Lemon said nervously. The bandana wearer looked behind him as he backed the car away.

"Uh, goodbye!" he exclaimed in his retreat. The others watched as Black Iris threw a mag-lev disk from his hand at a microbot attack, slicing it. The disk returned to his hand, making Gogo glare at him, analyzing him. He pressed some more buttons on his pouch for another ball. The familiar pink made Honey Lemon's eyes widen, surprise filling her. The ball hit the ground and created a pink smokescreen, blocking them from seeing more. The groups saw microbot attacks emerge randomly from the fog of pink. Suddenly, a supposedly stray group of microbots was heading towards them.

"Look out!" Black Iris yelled, emerging from the smoke and trying to get between them and the oncoming attack from Yokai. Finding he wouldn't be fast enough, he pressed a new set of buttons and hurled the new ball at the attack. A small explosion occurred, stopping the attack, but the blast made Wasabi's van turn involuntarily.

"Ah!" they screamed. Wasabi quickly recovered his control on the car and started to drive, Black Iris following bedside them like a guardian.

Yokai retracted his microbots and started to chase them. Baymax turned his head to their pursuer, watching him. Wasabi made a sharp left turn, making Fred hit the window. The car hit a few objects, but that was of little concern when a man in a kabuki mask was chasing you. Not even a bridge would slow this man down. Fred was beaming.

"Haha! We're under attack from a super villain, people! I mean, it's scary, obviously, but how cool!" Honey Lemon shook her head in disagreement.

Black Iris was doing his best to stop the villain's pursuits. Tadashi watched as the indigo hero threw disks and balls and slashed his plasma blades when he found a chance. They all watched, Wasabi glancing to see it just for a moment.

Everything drew to a halt when Wasabi made an abrupt stop.

"Why are we stopped?!"

"The light's red!" the driver pointed out to the woman beside him.

"There are no red lights in a car chase!" she exclaimed in return, making Wasabi flinch back. Black Iris took this chance to land on the van and press buttons on his pouch. This time, two icy balls appeared. When they reached the ground just as the light turned green, a large wall of ice blocked Yokai's path.

With the delay, Black Iris thought the group could get some good distance as he continued to fight, but that plan disappeared when Yokai pushed himself through with many spikes of microbots on one point. The hero growled in frustration as the villain continued his pursuit.

"Why is he trying to kill us?!" Wasabi asked in panic. He put his head out the window, looking at the man in the kabuki mask. "Um, why are you trying to kill us?!"

"It's a classic villain! We've seen too much!"

"Let's not jump to conclusions. We don't know he's trying to kill us!" Honey Lemon said, making Tadashi look at her and raise a brow at her denial.

"Car!" Fred screamed.

"He's trying to kill us!" the blonde yelled in realization.

Black Iris jumped kicking the car back towards Yokai, but the villain merely deflecting the counter attack. The indigo hero jumped from building to building before activating his mag-lev disks again and landing on the road. He zoomed back to the others. Wasabi made another sharp turn, his right blinker shining.

"Did you just put your blinker on?!" Gogo questioned angrily.

"You have to indicate your turn! It's the law!"

"That's…it." she said, becoming dangerously serious. Honestly, between feeling violated from the idea that Black Iris stole her disks and Yokai trying to kill them, Wasabi's strange antics would not be tolerated.

The black haired girl put her gum down and moved the driver's seat back. She quickly sat on his knees and took over the wheel as Wasabi shrieked. She stepped on the gas, smoke coming from the tires as a result. Black Iris blinked at the new change in driving before smirking and grabbing Baymax to catch a ride.

As they sped down the road, Yokai appeared, trying to block their way and make them run into him. Gogo quickly turned into a small alley way, making her friends shriek in surprise, especially when they became trapped between cars and buildings on the sidewalk. She made another right and drove with excellent skill as she went up the hill.

Yokai tried once again to stop them, but Gogo pulled the hand brake and pressed on the gas again, making the van turn and her friends scream louder. The van jumped, dodging Yokai's attempt. They somehow landed with no problems and drove away. Tadashi had no idea his friend was such a badass driver. Suddenly, feeling relief, his thoughts turned to why he was here in the first place. He tried to move the to the passenger side.

"Gogo, stop the car! I need to- Ahh!" Suddenly, when he put his hand on the door, it gave out. He closed his eyes, expecting to hit the road. But instead, he felt two hands holding him. He opened his eyes and turned to the roof of the car. Baymax had grabbed his left hand and Black Iris his right. They saved him just in time. When they pulled him up, his cap fell off. Suddenly, Black Iris jumped off and grabbed it, still following close behind the group in the car. Baymax settled Tadashi into the passenger seat and put his seat belt on. The college student looked at his marshmallow white robot.

"Seat belts save lives. Buckle up every time."

Tadashi blinked at that and turned back to Black Iris. The smaller boy was zooming back to him with his cap in hand. He handed it back to its owner. "Be careful, you idiot!"

Tadashi didn't get to respond to that as Gogo made the van jump on the street and a train came into view. Black Iris started slowing down, putting himself between the van and Yokai. Gogo didn't slow down. She headed straight towards the tracks.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you doing?! What are you doing?! What are you doing?!" Wasabi voiced out his fear, but Gogo had it all under control. She used the same trick again to dodge the train and turn to the right at the same time, leaving Yokai and Black Iris on the other side. Yokai and Tadashi's eyes seemed to meet briefly as he stared at what was going on over there, the sound of the train hitting the tracks filling his ears. The villain turned his head away as Black Iris made his attack, but, after a few attempts, he was caught and thrown away just as Gogo took a detour.

"Did we lose him?" Honey asked worriedly.

"Look out!" Wasabi yelled.

A wall of microbots started to take over the road and surround them like a tunnel. The black haired woman didn't stop moving forward. Noticing what was going to happen, Tadashi yelled to his robot.

"Baymax! Hold on!" The huggable doctor did as he was told, holding very tightly to the car he was strapped to.

"We're not gonna make it!" Wasabi yelled.

"We're gonna make it." Gogo stated calmly.

"We're not gonna make it!"

"We're gonna make it!" Honey exclaimed as Gogo pressed the gas.

"We're not gonna make it!"

And just as the microbots clouded the exit, Gogo blasted through them. They landed on the road.

"We made it!" the honey-blonde exclaimed happily.

But her happiness was short lived as the road ran out, making the group of friends scream as they hit the water, the front window cracking from the impact. They slowly sank into the depths, Baymax still holding on to the hood of the van. Water filled the can extremely quickly and everyone took a deep breath as it took away the last bit of air.

They hit the ground with a thud. Everyone tried to get out, but Baymax and Tadashi were stuck. The others didn't know what to do, but a familiar figure emerged above them. It was Black Iris. He started making gestures, telling them to unstrap Baymax and he would take care of Tadashi. The group made quick work of undoing the straps and quickly grabbing the robot as he floated to the surface.

Black Iris and Tadashi were slower. Both of them were trying to get the seat belt to let go and Tadashi was about to lose his breath. Black Iris moved the other's hands away and activated his plasma blade. He cut the seat as quickly as the resisting water would let him and pulled Tadashi out of the car. Holding the college student's hand, Black Iris swam as quickly as he could to get them to the surface.

But Tadashi couldn't hold on anymore.

His breathe gave out.

And suddenly, all he could focus on was the warm hand in his.


	5. Chapter 5: Heroes

**Chapter 5: Heroes**

With a gasp, Black Iris emerged from the water, trudging to the shore while making sure Tadashi's head was above water. Wasabi and Gogo rushed to pull them out, letting the superhero lie down to catch his breathe. His black visor turned to Tadashi as Wasabi brought the unconscious man next to him. Baymax moved away from the shivering Honey Lemon, heading toward his creator.

"Tadashi requires my attention." the robot stated in concern.

"Go for it, Buddy…" Fred said, shaking from the cold. Honey Lemon nodded before glancing at Tadashi's saviour.

Once the robot made it to Tadashi, Black Iris let a tired, content smile. It was so enchanting and curious to the others that the indigo hero's long moment of happiness vanished in the blink of an eye. He stood up, still holding that smile, though a little sadder now, and turned on the maglev disks. This got the group's attention and everyone surrounded him before he could leave.

"Hold it!" Gogo yelled. The black clad hero turned to each person frantically, bringing his hands to his chest, nervous. "Why the hell do you have our inventions?!"

"Why are you using them?!" Wasabi interjected.

"Why did that guy take Hiro's microbots?!" Honey Lemon exclaimed with a worried look.

"What makes you two think you have the right to use _our_ inventions like this?!"

"You've gotta teach me your moves!" Gogo gave a good hit to Fred's shoulder.

The young hero looked at them again, more relaxed this time though. He turned to Gogo and said, giggling a little, "Always so scary when you're angry."

"Huh?"

"Whoa, possible secret backstory." Fred said, rubbing his shoulder. Wasabi gave him a tired look. The superhero laughed at Fred's words, showing a joyful smile and another chuckle. Everyone looked at each other, confused.

"What's so funny, Black Iris?" Gogo asked, trying to get his attention. It did. He turned to her, tilting his head in confusion.

"Black Iris?" he questioned.

"S-Sorry, we didn't know what to call you and Fred just named you that." Honey Lemon stuttered. Fred waved with an enthusiastic smile at the mention of him. "Do you want us to stop?"

"No, no, it's fine. In fact, I'd be worried if he didn't give me some sort of weird nickname." Black Iris grinned. Everyone was getting more and more confused. Wasabi was the first to speak up.

"Do we…know you?"

"…You do…but on the other hand, you probably don't too…"

"What?" the freezing group said in unison. Suddenly, Black Iris jumped abnormally high, landing smoothly away from the group. He turned to their surprised faces.

"I don't want you to get involved with my ways, so please, just stay away. I promise this will be over soon and I promise you that defeating people like… _him_ is the only reason I use your inventions." The indigo hero waved goodbye. "Take care of yourselves. I don't want anyone to get hurt." Before the others could say anything, the black hero took off with unmatchable speed.

Honey Lemon fidgeted. "He's gone…Ah! We forgot to thank him!"

"We'll do it next time." the black haired girl stated calmly.

"What next time?" Wasabi questioned, getting worried.

"Cough, cough, cough…argh…"

Everyone turned to the now conscious man and his marshmallow robot, who was helping the man sit up. Everyone let out a breath that they had been unknowingly holding in some part of their lungs. Tadashi was back, coughing water. He looked around wildly.

"Wh-Where…?"

"Welcome back, buddy!" Fred exclaimed.

"Tadashi!" Honey Lemon went up to him. "Are you okay?"

Tadashi took deep breaths. "Y-Yeah. Thanks, Baymax."

"You are welcome. However, your injuries require my attention and your body temperatures are low."

The black haired boy turned to his friends. "We should get out of here…"

"I know a place." Fred said, giving a serious look.

* * *

This was a strange night, much more than Tadashi intended anyway. As he and his friends walked down a street Tadashi had never passed before, freezing cold, the science students couldn't help but feel…misplaced. All the houses around them were big and fancy. Lots of these homes had well placed rock or brick walls to keep people out. There was also some very green grass in many of the front lawns, something the group didn't really see in the city. Where on earth were they? The only one that did know was Fred, who was walking in front of them with a determined look on his face.

"Where are we?" Gogo asked, taking in the sights.

Suddenly, Fred turned and the rest of the group stopped, looking at where Fred was going. The brunet was heading straight for an enormous white mansion. It had a perfect stairway, perfect garden and perfectly cut bushes. The mansion itself looked like it came out of the Victorian era and was grand enough to make itself look fit for royalty.

"F-Fred…" Tadashi tried to get his friend's attention, which he did. "Where are you going?"

Fred gave a puzzled face, looking back between his friends and the mansion until he understood. "Oh!" He held out his arms welcomingly. "Welcome to mi casa! That's French for front door."

Gogo glared at him as Honey gave an uncertain smile. "It's really…not."

"Listen, nitwit. A lunatic in a mask just tried to kill us." The black haired girl pointed an accusing finger at the brunet. "I'm not in the mood for any-!"

Her sentence was cut off by the grand door being opened. A butler came into view. The new arrival turned to Fred. "Welcome home, Master Fredrick."

"Heathcliff! My man!" Everyone's shoulders fell in shock…' _What?_ ' "Come on in, guys. We'll be safe here!" Fred brought a fist up to the butler. "Give me some."

Heathcliff unenthusiastically gave Fred a fist bump as the others made their way up to the entrance. Fred went inside first. The rest of the group followed, Honey Lemon and Wasabi acknowledging the butler as they did. Baymax looked to Heathcliff, who still had his fist out. The marshmallow robot looked down at the hand before looking back up at Heathcliff and entering the mansion.

Inside the mansion, the group took in the new sight. Not only was the outside impressive, but the inside was just as amazing, if not more. It was spacious with orange-red walls. A bright yellow chandelier was suspended on the ceiling. Paintings were hung on the elegantly designed interior. It was a captivating world inside this mansion. Fred started moving, used to the place's beauty.

"Freddy, this is your house?!" Honey Lemon asked in amazement.

"I thought you lived under a bridge." Gogo stated.

"Well, technically it belongs to my parents. But they're on a vay-cay on the family island." Fred spun around. "We should totally go sometime." Turning back to the front, the brunet clapped his hands, making the doors open.

Entering the new room, everyone's eyes widened. It was a room of geek fandom. There were monsters and superhero suits and action figures everywhere. There was an amazing widescreen TV and heaps of comic books lined with action figures. A neat bed with four pillows was directly before them with an arcade game next to it.

"You gotta be kidding me." was Gogo's response. Tadashi agreed with it as he took in and processed what he was seeing. He heard a gasp behind him from Honey Lemon, but he really didn't want to know why. He also didn't even want to know what Wasabi was talking about.

"If I wasn't just attacked by a guy in a kabuki mask, I'd think this would be the weirdest thing I've seen today." Gogo hummed in agreement.

"My brain hates my eyes for some reason…"

Tadashi walked further into the room, Baymax following behind him. He really needed to sit down. Between being attacked, nearly drowning and discovering he had an extremely rich friend, he needed to rest. Taking a seat next to the table in front of the TV, he sighed.

"Tadashi, your body temperature is still low."

Honestly, Tadashi couldn't care right now. There was too much going on inside his head. So his only response was: "Uh-huh…"

Suddenly, Tadashi felt a weight come on him, making him seek support from the table. It was Baymax. The inventor rolled his eyes when Baymax began to heat up and nuzzled into his arms on the table. ' _As expected of you, so caring_.' His friends started to join him in Baymax's heat blanket. Fred let out a satisfied groan.

"It's like spooning a warm marshmallow."

"Ahh, it's so nice!"

"Oh yeah."

Gogo let out a happy sigh. "Good robot…"

Tadashi smiled and relaxed in the heat. It really was nice, so much so that Tadashi wanted to sleep in it. But there was still something bothering him. He wasn't sure what, but he knew it had something to do with the docks, something about Yokai…Tadashi frowned. He couldn't remember. The college student knew it was something strange, but he was drawing a blank.

"Hey, guys."

"Hm?" His friends' responded, turning to him, but not leaving Baymax's heat.

"Did any of you notice anything strange? I feel like Yokai and the microbots were doing something."

Gogo stared at him, her face and voice layered with sarcasm. "Yeah, he was lifting bins and throwing them at us."

"Why do you ask?"

"I thought I saw something when Yokai came to the shore, but I can't remember what it was…"

"It's probably nothing. Plus, you can't expect yourself to remember it after what happened." Honey Lemon proposed, Gogo nodding in agreement while Fred tried to remember what Tadashi was talking about.

"Actually, I can't even remember everything that happened in that car chase. It was all so fast." Wasabi said with a thoughtful brow.

Tadashi rolled his head around and groaned as he made one last attempt to remember what memory refused to provide. Suddenly, he stood up, trying to pull his hair out. "Argh! I give up! It was red, that's all I remember!"

"Whoa! Calm down!"

The black haired college boy turned to Honey Lemon. "How can I calm down?! My brother's murderer is running around out there! Black Iris can only delay him! I can't find, much less remember a single clue to figure out what Yokai's up to and I can't do anything to stop…him…" Tadashi blinked for a moment and sighed, trying to suppress his emotions, letting his mind take over. "Just who is that guy in the mask…?"

Fred wormed in with a confident matter of fact pose. "I have a theory."

Before Tadashi knew it, Fred had gathered/dragged everyone on the couch with comic books that he had picked out from the shelf. As he circled the seated group, everyone had their eyebrows raised as they looked down at the form of literature. They were undeniably confused, having no idea where Fred was going with this.

"Dr. Slaughter M.D?" Wasabi mumbled in question, looking closer at the title to confirm what he was reading.

"Actually millionaire weapons designer, Malcolm Chazzletic." Fred explained, pointing roughly at the pages.

"The Annihilator?" Tadashi said out loud.

"Behind the mask, industrialist, Reid Axeworthy."

"Baron von Destruc- Just get to the point!" Gogo exclaimed.

Fred started moving away from the couch and towards the TV, holding a remote. "Don't you guys get it?! The man in the mask who attacked us is none other than…voila!" He pressed a button and the screen lit. "Alistair Krei!"

"What?!" Tadashi exclaimed, standing up.

"Think about it. Krei wanted Hiro's microbots, and he said no. Rules don't apply to a man like Krei."

"There's no way. The guy's too high profile."

"Then who was that guy in the mask…?" Honey Lemon asked.

"I…don't know. We don't know anything about him."

"His blood type is AB-." Everyone looked up, surprised by the interjection of the white balloon robot. "The cholesterol levels are-"

Tadashi ran up to his creation. "Baymax! You scanned him!"

"I am programmed to assess everyone's healthcare needs."

"Yes!" Tadashi exclaimed, hoping appearing in his eyes. He ran a hand through his hair. "Haha! I can use the data from your scanner to find him!"

"Uh, you'd have to scan everyone in San Fransokyo, which might take, I don't know…forever." Gogo said.

"No, no, no, no! I just have to look for another angle." Tadashi walked around, trying to come up with a solution to the new problem. Suddenly, upon looking at one of Fred's action figures, an idea came to him. He picked up the robot excitedly. "Got it! I'll scan the whole city at the same time! I just have to update Baymax's sensor." The college student looked up to a glass case, the refection of his friends faintly blocking the view to the superhero action figures behind it. Another grand idea came to mind. Tadashi turned, gesturing to his group of friends. "Actually, if we're gonna catch this guy, we'll need to upgrade all of you."

"Upgrade who now?" Wasabi asked. Tadashi ignored him a merely circled everyone in the room, thinking of what they can do. Fred was beaming.

"Hoho! Okay, I like where this is heading!"

"We can't go against that guy! We're nerds!" the bandana wearer protested.

"Tadashi, we want to help, but we're just…us."

"No." Tadashi countered, looking behind the group and at the poster on the wall, everyone turning to where he was looking. "We can be _way_ more." Gogo, who had been thoughtful during this discussion, stood up with a sigh, putting a hand on Fred's shoulder.

"Hiro was a good kid. You're not gonna stop, so fine. We're in." she said, calmly. As Fred was nodding happily, Wasabi and Honey Lemon thought for a moment before nodding and standing up as well.

Fred laughed enthusiastically. "Can you feel it?! You guys, do you feel this?! Our origin story begins! We're gonna be superheroes!"

* * *

Black Iris walked down the dark streets. His armor was beginning to feel heavy, his strength starting to leave him. His stomach growled loudly. The hero held onto his stomach as it cried for food, feeling the empty void inside. He groaned. The indigo hero had no money, so he couldn't buy anything, and he didn't eat much back in his parallel universe. Food was rationed there and he often gave his portion to someone who needed it more.

His suit was beginning to weigh him down, so he turned it off, letting the metal rest on his wrists, ankles and neck. Black Iris leaned against a cement wall, sliding down in exhaustion. Turning the suit off didn't help much with the weight. Putting it all in certain areas was a bad idea. The black haired hero groaned in pain. He was so tired from the fight, so tired from swimming in very cold waters. He was so hungry. ' _I would kill for a bowl of soup…or at least a gummy bear. Argh, if only I found enough money on the ground! Then I could find a vending ma-!_ '

The sound of footsteps snapped him out of his thoughts. With it, Black Iris could hear the crackling of garbage bags. The hero lifted his tired eyes to where the sounds were coming from. His eyes widened. Before him was a half bald butler dressed in a suit and a standing in perfect stature, and he had just turned his head towards Black Iris.

The butler lifted a brow and placed the black plastic bags down. He approached the small figure resting on his master's cement fence, taking in more of child's form as he did, noticing the thin build and small wrists. The boy looked underfed, tired and weak from hunger. Some food and sleep would help the boy. The black haired child tried to moved away and get up, except a growl erupted and he collapsed. The butler swiftly caught the child.

"Hello there. My name is Heathcliff. Are you alright?" he asked. The boy lifted his head up to look at the butler.

"…Mmmmaaaaybe…"

"…That's a no then."

"…Yes."

Heathcliff sighed and suddenly took the boy's arm, putting it around his neck, supporting the small male. The black haired boy gasped, eyes widening again, panicking. He didn't want to go inside. He didn't know what would happen if he saw _them_. He just knew they were in there. "U-Uh! Um-!"

"Come on, then. I'll make you some soup." The butler started dragging the weak man to the gate door, closing it as they went inside.

"T-That's not necessary!" the young man protested, trying to get out of the hold. ' _Man, this guy is stiff!_ '

"Considering your condition, I beg to differ. And I'm not about to leave you like this. I'm sure Master Fredrick won't oppose to letting you have a proper meal." Heathcliff walked the struggling man down the garden's brick road to the entrance. He opened to door and they went inside the home's perfectly clean kitchen.

The young man had to blink multiple times to adjust to the light. During his moment of even weaker weakness, Heathcliff sat the black haired boy down, his eyes narrowing at the mop of disheveled black hair. He turned away for a second to close the door. When he turned back, he saw that the black haired boy had leapt off the chair and was backing away like a small cornered animal, searching for a way out.

Black Iris' eyes darted between Heathcliff and the door. His exit was cut off. As the butler started to carefully approach him, the secret hero eventually found a way out of the kitchen. He ran further into the mansion, running away from the pursuer that followed soon after. Turning a corner in the luxurious hallway, the boy looked back to see if the butler was still following. He was. ' _God, even his running is stiff, yet somehow he's annoyingly fast!_ '

Analytical eyes tried to find a way to get out of Heathcliff's pursuit. He looked at every door the second he entered a new hallway, but none seemed like perfect choices. The boy's stomach growled and his limbs seemed to be losing their ability function, unhappy with the amount energy that adrenaline demanded. He couldn't help but groan uneasily. This wasn't good. He was going to be forced to a stop soon. But he couldn't let Fred see him. He didn't understand what has happened yet and meeting him could…Black Iris shook away the thoughts. Now wasn't the time for this. He needed a good place to hide.

Suddenly, a thought came to mind after looking at a painting on the wall. And he knew exactly what to do next.

Before the butler knew it, Black Iris started making more decisive and planned turns, steadily moving farther away from the older man. The stiff gentleman frowned when he did notice this. It deepened when as the boy got further and further away and turned when he was half a hallway away. The butler put extra force into his step to move faster, but was startled to see that there was no trace of the starving boy before him.

Heathcliff blinked very confusedly and looked around. He was alone. Where the hell did that boy disappear to?


	6. Chapter 6: Angles

**Chapter 6: Angles**

Black Iris stumbled slightly as he leaned against the back of the family painting disguised door. He panted, trying to catch his breath, before ending it with one deep inhale. Exhaling, he moved deeper into the hidden base. He looked at the multiple spare suits and weapons. His interest sparked when he saw the computer on the other side of the room. The hero really wanted to do some snooping into Fred's superhero dad's secret files. He also wanted to play around with the weapons too.

However, curiosity would have to wait. Heathcliff was approaching the door with careful, suspenseful steps. The butler seemed to stop right in front of the family painting, the piece of art that stood between him and the hiding hero. Dread filled Black Iris. He needed a place to hide right now!

The second the door opened, Black Iris tried to hide against the wall, not knowing where else he could conceal himself. But once Heathcliff passed the mini-hallway, there would be nothing to stop him from seeing the cowering boy, so the only thing he could do was turn on his suit and pretend to be like one of the other suits. He turned on his suit and pressed a button on his helmet, making the visor completely cover his face. When he was completely covered with the indigo and black, he immediately leaned against the wall and held his breathe, trying to seem lifeless.

Heathcliff emerged from the hallway, looking worried. He turned to the right, ignoring the speaker and weapons hanging on the walls. With no sign there, he quickly turned to the left. A bunch of suits, nothing wrong there. Looking ahead briefly he sighed and, seeing that the boy wasn't there, he turned back and closed the door. "Where did he go? I hope he doesn't get lost."

The second the door closed, Black Iris let out the held breathe. Relief filled his being and he slumped to the floor. "Thank goodness…"

Sensing the lack of adrenaline, his stomach took this opportunity to get the hero's attention and growled. Agony took over relief and Black Iris tried to come up with a solution to his problem. He groaned as another growl told him to think faster. Turning his head and ignoring the pain, he tried to see if there may be a secret compartment for food. However, it seems that idea was useless. There was nothing here that told him there was secret food somewhere. That left only one option. He would have to sneak some food from the kitchen. Fred wouldn't mind.

Closing his eyes, he waited for Heathcliff to stop searching the hallway.

* * *

The next day, Tadashi roused from his bed. When he opened his eyes, a huge ceiling greeted him, too big a change from his room back home. Narrowing his blinking eyes, he struggled to sit up. As he looked around tiredly at all the fancy and expensive furniture and decorations, he remembered where he was. ' _Oh yeah, we stayed over because it was so late…God, I still can't believe I'm in such a place!_ '

Tadashi maneuvered out of the bed, a little upset about leaving the heat filled blankets. As images of yesterday's events passed through his mind, the college student held a look of determination. Today, he and his friends were going to adapt their inventions so they could fight Yokai with Black Iris. He was so excited. His mind was already trying to map out Baymax's new sensor.

Suddenly, the opening of the doors to his room broke Tadashi's trail of thought. The butler, Heathcliff, entered the room, holding his now dry clothes from yesterday. The student raised an eyebrow as he noticed bags under Heathcliff's eyes. The man let out a sigh that seemed to actually be some form of repressed yawn. ' _Did he not sleep last night?_ '

"Good morning, Master Hamada." Heathcliff greeted. That name didn't sound right to Tadashi's ear.

"Uh, just Tadashi is fine."

"All right. In any case, breakfast is on the table and your friends are getting ready. I still haven't woken Master Fredrick, but feel free to eat without him. He often sleeps in. I blame the comic books. He was jumping around last night, pretending to be one of them."

Tadashi laughed a little. Yeah, Fred would be pretty excited, considering his friends were about to become real superheroes. Looking up at the butler's tired expression, Tadashi tilted his head. "Did you not get enough sleep either? You have bags under your eyes."

The butler unconsciously touched the skin under his eyes. "Oh, um, while I was taking out the garbage, I found a…cat, but it escaped my grasp and is running around the mansion. I couldn't find it last night, but so far nothing has been…damaged."

"Want me to keep an eye out for him?"

"That would be very gracious of you, Ma- Tadashi. Tell me if you…see anything strange."

Tadashi blinked confusedly at Heathcliff's choice of words, but let it go, shrugging slightly. He had to get started with the day. So, as Heathcliff left to try and wake his boss' son, Tadashi got dressed and started to make his way to the dining room…only to get lost.

Tadashi didn't know how long he had been stuck in the endless maze that was Fred's mansion, but when he eventually did find his way to the dining room, he found that it was empty, not a soul in sight. There was evidence that people had been eating there, leaving a small mess. The college student could only conclude that his friends finished without him in the time that he was lost and then left after he never showed up. His guess was that they were now at the university.

Alone, Tadashi took a seat and ate some of his cold breakfast, which was strangely good despite the amount of time that it had been left out. Heathcliff had arrived five minutes later, surprised to see him.

"Did you just sit down?"

"…Yeah…I got lost."

Apparently, there was a map in the guest bedroom that Tadashi should have found, but seeing as he didn't, Heathcliff promised to put it in a more obvious spot for the future. The butler then made him some fresh steak as an apology and because it was now lunch time. Once the plate was set on the table, Tadashi's mouth watered at the smell and sight of the juicy meat. If the old breakfast was good, God knew what lunch was like.

It was, honestly, the best meal Tadashi had ever had, though when he talked about it in the future, he would add that it just barely defeated Aunt Cass' cooking. When he was finished, he left the mansion, this time, guided by Heathcliff and bringing a drunk like Baymax that was in desperate need of recharging. From there, Tadashi made his journey home, vowing to never let his invention run out of energy again as the marshmallow robot kept slurring and spoke nonsense. Upon reaching his house and making up an excuse for his aunt, he searched for his scooter and rode to the university with Baymax in his charger.

Since it was the weekend, the place was relatively empty, aside from some students that went there to concentrate and study…and for people who were working on their experiments. As Tadashi finished the last of his walk down the white halls, he opened the door to the nerd lab. Inside, Gogo and Honey Lemon were in one corner, the honey-blonde trying to help the black haired woman with her disks. Wasabi was in the opposite corner with his lasers, a frown on his expression as he tinkered with wires.

They didn't seem to notice the newcomer, totally enwrapped in what they were doing. Tadashi decided not to disturb them, though he did want to ask why Gogo was working with such angry determination. Considering how scary the cool woman could be, the college student found more motivation to leave them alone.

Moving towards his private lab, Tadashi opened the door and went to his desk, putting Baymax and his charger beside him. He turned on the computer, watching as it turned from black to sky blue. Tadashi didn't have to wait long before he could open his files and search for his sensor design. He looked at it carefully, putting different ideas in and testing them, only to delete them when they didn't work. This kept going for a few hours and Tadashi's patience was diminishing with every frustrating failure. ' _Come on, Tadashi. You're not a super genius like Hiro, but you're still a genius!_ '

It would take another hour before Tadashi figured this out and he was very happy when he did, crying for joy and jumping off his chair. He eagerly typed codes into the new program. He was pretty satisfied with how well this was going, but it didn't last. He eventually lost his moment of genius and was suddenly unable to solve a new problem. ' _Drat! I was so close to finishing!_ ' Mulling it over, he put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. While he was stuck in his thoughts, someone opened the door.

"Hello? Tadashi?" Fred called out. There was no reply, but as Fred peeked inside he saw his dark haired friend sitting in his chair. He tried again, walking into the room. "Dude?" There was still no reply, making Fred raise a brow. How deep in thought was he? After a moment of silence, he smirked. Deciding to do a little experiment of his own, he went right up to Tadashi and grabbed a marker on the desk. But just as the cap was taken off, Tadashi suddenly snapped back to reality and his eyes became completely focussed a tip of black that was aimed for his nose.

"Ah!" Tadashi screeched, pushing Fred back. The brunet landed on the desk, his back bending painfully, while the black haired man's chair tipped back from the force, his head hitting the floor hard.

"Ow…" the two said in unison, rubbing their injuries.

Following his programming, Baymax emerged from his charger. Having been completely inflated with air, the white robot took in the scene, blinking.

"You two have fallen."

"You think?" Tadashi asked, annoyance making him have a bad attitude.

"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" Baymax asked, face icons appearing on his rubber stomach.

"One." The creator stroked his throbbing head.

"Four!" Fred replied, comforting his wounded back.

Baymax approached Fred first, walking slowly and calculatedly as ever, the patient lifting his shirt so the robot doctor could have access to the wound. Lifting his finger, the marshmallow robot turned it into a spray and began to apply it to the brunet. He was soon finished with the first patient and moved on to his creator, who had put the chair upright and took a seat. Tadashi tilted his head to allow Baymax to heal and his wound, letting his gaze go to his friend.

"Did you need something, Fred?" he asked.

"Oh! I was wondering how you were doing. Everyone else is super busy. I wanted to help Wasabi, but I couldn't really do much. Apparently, he is having an easier time than he thought figuring out how to make the plasma blades, but not how to make it last longer than five minutes. I had no idea those things needed so much energy."

"Yeah, they do. Remember when Wasabi turned it on for the first time?" Tadashi asked with a smile, earning a big one in return from Fred. Baymax, having finished treating Tadashi's wound, watched the scene, tilting his head as he examined the exchange. Fred moved back to the desk and lifted himself onto the structure, taking a seat of his own.

"Haha! Yeah! The lights around campus went out and all hell broke loose!"

"I still can't believe Wasabi can screech that high!"

"I still can't believe Gogo can actually be startled!" They laughed. Tadashi's laugher calmed down to talk.

"Hiro laughed when he heard and almost fell off his chair when he found out that I lost my essay in the sudden black out. Apparently, my really upset face was hilarious." A nostalgic smile filled his expression, drawing Fred into his friend's happiness, calming down as well. But it was short lived.

"Where is Hiro?" Baymax interjected, making the other two freeze. "Is he unwell?"

Tadashi immediately became uncomfortable, remembering just where Hiro was. ' _Not here. Not here. Not_ here.' His head dropped, looking away from everyone in the room, a frown taking over the face that was cheerful just a moment ago. Fred began to get nervous at the sudden change, the joy quickly leaving the atmosphere and the robot was too clueless to read it. He wanted to say something, but Tadashi went first.

"Hiro's gone…" the creator said in a monotone sadness and let out a gloomy sigh.

"When will he return?"

"He's dead, Baymax."

"Hiro was in excellent health. With a proper diet and exercise, he should have lived a long life."

Tadashi felt tears emerging from his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. "…Yeah, he should have. But there was a fire. Now, he's gone."

Baymax blinked, staring at his creator silently for a moment before speaking. "Hiro is here."

"No." Tadashi stood up from his seat and moved towards the window. "People keep saying he's not really gone…as long as we remember him." He absent mindedly touched the window, the frown deepening. "It still hurts…" Baymax tilted his head in response.

"I see no evidence of physical injury." Fred wanted to face palm, but Tadashi ignored the naiveté, focusing on his reflection in the window.

"It's a different kind of hurt." he said. Baymax looked at his creator a little longer before moving closer.

"You are my patient. I would like to help."

"You can't fix this one, Buddy."

Tadashi's eyes were distant. Help could be good or bad, and Baymax was not designed to heal the mind. His creation would probably make things worse if it tried. Suddenly, Tadashi heard the sound of a computer and turned towards it. His eyes widened. The sight before him was Fred looking quickly between him and Baymax, who had his hand on the computer, clearly downloading something, but the images were too fast for him to pick up.

"Uhh, what are you doing?" Tadashi asked nervously.

"I am downloading a database on 'personal loss.'" Baymax answered. Then he closed his eyes. When the robot opened them again, he spoke, Tadashi eyeing him suspiciously. "Database downloaded." The walking marshmallow robot then took in the inventor's form again. "Treatments include: contact with friends and loved ones." Baymax's belly then lit up with the images of Gogo, Wasabi and Honey Lemon. "I am contacting them now."

"No, no, no, no, I-! Don't do that!" Tadashi went up to his creation, hands on the images of his friends, but he was too late, and the images disappeared almost instantly.

"Your friends have been contacted."

"Unbelievable." the inventor said, turning away and lifting his arm in exasperation. Fred jumped as his phone went off and looked to see his message. Baymax then came behind Tadashi, bringing him into an embrace. "Now what are you doing?"

"Other treatments include: compassion and physical reassurance." Tadashi shook his head while rolling his eyes.

"I'm okay, really."

"It will be all right. There, there." Baymax said, patting Tadashi's head.

Tadashi smiled and patted his robot friend's arm, asking for release. Getting out of the gentle hold and backing away, he said. "Thanks, Baymax."

"I am sorry about the fire."

"It's okay. It was…" Tadashi's face darkened. Fred wanted to get away from the ice cold gleam in those brown eyes. He couldn't believe they belonged to his kind friend. The brunet got off the desk and moved more towards Baymax.

"If we're going to catch that guy, you're going to need some upgrades." With that, the inventor took his seat and moved to his computer, working like a mad man again.

Fred watched this, feeling slightly fearful and backed away towards the door. When he slipped out, he looked around him. Gogo was sharing a similar expression to the person he just left, but she held something that seemed more like rivalry rather than vengeance and need for closure, completely ignoring the message on her phone. Wasabi was the same, growling in frustration as little sparks flew. The comic enthusiast's frown deepened. Everyone seemed to be hurting. It wasn't quite how he imagined their story to begin. Must a story start with a sacrifice and a feeling of violation? Fred then decided: He may not be as smart as everyone else, but he would do whatever he could to help. Making a determined huff, he turned to Honey Lemon, who was working half-heartedly in her section of the room. When she noticed Fred, she approached him.

"H-How is he?" she asked, holding her hands to her chest. She seemed worried, not just about Tadashi, but about everyone, just like Fred. The comic book lover admired and loved that compassion, but in the face of her question, he crossed his arms and looked down.

"Um, not bad, but not really well either…" Fred was thoughtful for a moment. Honey Lemon couldn't help but blink in surprise at the considerate face he was holding. "However, Baymax just downloaded info on personal loss…I get the feeling everything will be okay! With that awesome robot on the job, he's sure to be fine!"

The brunet let out a grin of reassurance. Honey Lemon smiled, her posture straightening. She was so glad to hear those words. He was right. Everything would be okay.

* * *

Black Iris took a bite of the bread in his hands, sitting on the floor and breathing deeply. He had recently snuck into the mansion's kitchen. Thankfully, because Heathcliff was still looking for him elsewhere, he was able to get there with not much difficulty. The butler seemed to be searching the gardens to the other end of the large house. He felt bad, but it was hard to notice when you were enjoying food for the first time in days.

' _Now to move on to my next problem: Yokai_.' Black Iris thought to himself. ' _My plan to stop him at the pier didn't work. In fact, I couldn't even take him down. You'd think my experience could overcome it_.' He sighed, upset with himself. "Hmph, I blame the lack of food!"

Eating another slice of bread and crossing his arms, the young man closed his eyes. ' _Okay, so, it's clear that this world more or less follows the same timeline as my own, therefore, Yokai should be on Akuma Island_ …' Black Iris frowned deeply. ' _But how am I going to get there? I don't know anything about boats, also stealing one is a little undesirable, and I doubt I have the right materials in this room to build a robot or a jet pack to fly me there_ …'

Black Iris got off the strangely comfortable floor and looked around. ' _Hmmm, try to find a new angle…There must be something that can help me_.' His eyes shifted from one thing to another in the secret room. He gazed at the suits and the weapons, turning to everything slowly. The hero's mind submerged itself into imagination and tried to come up with the treasure that would help him stop the demon lord. However, nothing was really giving him any inspiration.

The boy tried moving around, getting closer to the objects around him. Black Iris really hoped this adjustment would change something. Eventually, he found himself staring at his reflection through the computer screen. He tilted his head. An idea was coming to him. He placed his hand on the glass and moved his head back up. Then his eyes widened, a smile emerging on his face, the movements reflecting on the clear object in front of him. Black Iris grinned widely.

"I think it's about time I invented an invisibility suit!"


	7. Chapter 7: Technology

**Chapter 7: Technology**

Black Iris growled, had been for the past ten minutes. The hero wanted to find a mobile way of using invisibility and his research was not going well. He was trying to use Google, but apparently the computers here were outdated and it refused to catch a single word in the hero's questions, and thus leaving him in a very angry and frustrated state. He honestly wanted to just chop it in half with a plasma blade, but that would be counterproductive, and he really needed to be productive. The hero gritted his teeth.

"Okay, let's try this again. Google, look up: Light Surface Reflectivity."

At that, the screen began to load. However, when it was finished, many links to Breaking Bad appeared, not the research sites that Black Iris wanted. ' _What the hell does Breaking Bad have to do with what I'm saying?!_ ' With clenched fists, he glared harshly at the frustrating computer.

"Google! Look up: Light Surface Reflectivity!"

This time, he got links to cars.

"NO! Google, look up-!"

Suddenly, the machine exploded, making the hero back away with a scream of surprise, arms moving to protect his head. When he emerged from his hiding spot, he looked at the busted computer, watching the dark smoke float into the air.

"…T-That wasn't what I meant either." he muttered, staring, jaw dropped. One of his eyes twitched in disbelief as the smoke began to rise higher, filling the room, but his gaze eventually hardened.

This was the second time this happened. Back at the library, something similar occurred when he read the online newspaper article. Bringing a hand to his chin and supporting it, he thought to himself, ' _It can't be that these things are related…but this usually doesn't happen either, not so close together anyway_.' This was strange to him. In the past, his own past, this pretty much never happened, unless some villain decided to do it. He was pretty sure there was no enemy behind this. He would have sensed something sinister was up. This felt…accidental. He looked up. ' _C-Could it be…me?_ '

'… _Nah. That's impossible_.' The hero looked back down at the broken computer, smoke rising in larger amounts. ' _I hope_ …'

Dismissing his thoughts, Black Iris reached for the fire extinguisher.

* * *

Tadashi awoke in an uncomfortable position in his lab, the dryness in his throat telling him to drink. His tongue moved to settle the dryness and need for water and he began to stretch, trying to adjust his sore muscles. As joints popped, the college student looked at the screen of his computer. It was black, but there was a green light in the corner, indicating that it had fallen asleep soon after he did. Pressing the space bar, the screen lit up, revealing the completed program of Baymax's new sensor.

Tadashi smiled. It took him most of the night, but it was finally finished. He had been so happy and relieved, but that peace made him fall asleep halfway through his celebration. Tadashi chuckled, pleased with himself. He couldn't wait to tell everyone.

' _I wonder how they're doing_ …' Curious, he got up and walked out of his lab. As he looked around, he saw Wasabi asleep in the corner, drooling. In front of him was a plasma blade, or something close to it. The machine was smaller than Black Iris', the blades would practically be the size of daggers and not really meant for combat. Tadashi tilted his head. He hoped it worked despite this change in size.

Wondering what the contents included, he took a step forward. Thankfully, that was all he took. If he had taken another, there was a high chance he would have collided with a zooming Gogo. As she went by in a flash, Tadashi froze in place, utterly terrified to the point of petrification, eye twitching and trembling in fear. A crash snapped him out of this state and he turned. Gogo had crashed into the recycle bin, disks rolling around and covering his friend.

"Are you okay, Gogo?" Tadashi asked, approaching her.

"I'm fine." she growled, pushing another disk off her body and stood up, jumping out of the pile of failed prototypes. Was it not going well? Was that why she was unhappy?

"Are you sure…?"

"Yes, I am!"

"I don't think you are."

"Well, guess what?! You're wrong!" Tadashi's eyes narrowed.

"…I'm pretty sure I'm right. Come on, what's wrong, Gogo? Your mask of coolness is slipping and turning into…stress?" Gogo's eye twitched, but she turned away and crossed her arms, thinking in silence. Tadashi tilted his head as he waited for the response.

"…I…will admit: I have another reason for joining you in stopping Yokai. It just feels so…wrong."

"What feels wrong?"

"It feels wrong that Black Iris was able to just take our inventions and turn them into these amazing things. He took _my_ invention and perfected it, something I've been trying to do for months. It's-! It's-! Argh! I'm just so angry! And disturbed! And…jealous." The black haired woman's voice became softer, her eyes looking down at the disk on her leg, pulling it off and looking at her reflection. Her gaze held sadness. "Black Iris…he's amazing. I wish I had his talent. I want to beat him."

Tadashi's eyes widened at his friend's confession. He didn't know she felt that way. He was so busy with trying to stop Yokai and figure out his sensor that he hadn't thought about what his friends were thinking about all this. The college student's eyes lowered down in shame. He was being such a bad friend. Turning back to Gogo, Tadashi watched as she jumped out of the pile of disks and tried to brush off any possible dirt from her clothes.

"I'll be honest, I feel the same way…Yokai stole Hiro's microbots and just tried to use them to kill us. I hate it. He's using Hiro's memory to hurt people. He hurt Hiro to do it." Tadashi's fists clenched as old feelings of rage returned. At the pain exhibited by her friend, Gogo looked at him with concern, but absorbed his sympathizing words. She could tell he wanted to comfort her, but how could he when he didn't even know what to tell himself. The black haired woman closed her eyes.

"Yeah. He did..." Gogo sighed. "I guess I can't get too mad. At least my thief is using them for good…I just wish I could be as talented too."

"So I take it the disks are no good at the moment?"

"They work…kind of. I can't get good balance and the speed is still lacking. They're not as good as Black Iris' disks, certainly not as fast, and I have no idea how to get these to be thrown and come back without a problem. I think this is the best I can do. To be at Black Iris' level, I'd need a lot more time."

"I don't think we have that. Who knows what Yokai is up to? For all we know, he's ready to put whatever plan he has into action."

Gogo nodded solemnly.

* * *

After waking everyone up and having breakfast in the cafeteria, the group had a meeting, discussing their problems and accomplishments. Tadashi was actually surprised and proud of his friends. They managed to do a lot. When he finished telling them about the completed scanner, they told him about what they had managed to do so far.

Wasabi was able to create a very close replica to the blades that Black Iris was using. However, they were small, like daggers, and used up energy too quickly. Honey Lemon made some of those orbs Black Iris. They didn't seem quite right though. The special pouch with the periodic table that could create them in an instant was definitely impossible for her. She had no idea how to make it, engineering wasn't her forte. More or less, they made good prototypes. In the meantime, Fred had managed to get a helicopter so they could go wherever they needed to, much to everyone's surprise. It was so rare for the brunet to come up with something no one else did.

However, he soon ruined his moment of brilliance when he pulled out a comic, jumped out of his seat and held the paper bundle high in the air for everyone to see.

"Let's give Baymax a rocket powered fist!" The response to his proposal was silence with Gogo coming up with ways to hit him in the corner. Fred immediately sensed the woman's incoming hostility and brought his hands up in a sort of surrender. "I just thought it would be good to have some more help!"

"No, you didn't! You just thought it would be cool!" Gogo argued back, slamming her hands on the table and standing up.

"I-I won't deny that! But it's still a good idea!" The woman took a step closer as a threat, her hand flexed into a fist. As good a friend as he was, Fred could be a little annoying at times. She hated to be disappointed. The brunet cowered behind Wasabi in defense.

"I'm not angry at the idea. I'm angry at the motivation behind it!"

Fred popped his head from his hiding place, a bit of hope in his eyes. "So wait. You think it's a good idea?"

"It's a fine idea. You'd have a good career as a bot fighter if you tried! I just wish you weren't such an idiot!" Gogo said with a smirk, giving the comic lover a karate chop to the head. Fred rubbed his injury and gave a meek smile. Tadashi raised an eyebrow. They were actually doing this? Wait, what the hell were they planning to do to his robot? The college boy couldn't voice this concern, however, as Honey Lemon decided to dive into the conversation, a thrilled smile on her face.

"I'll work out the math!"

"I'll get whatever we need!" Fred added.

"I'll put it all together!" Gogo stated, grabbing a shrinking Wasabi. He had an uncertain look in his eyes.

"I guess I'll be helping Gogo."

Seeing that this was moving without his opinion, Tadashi intervened. "Wait! Baymax is a healthcare robot! Fighting isn't really what he does best!"

"Well, you can easily fix that, can't you?! I'm sure making some sort of karate programming can solve the problem!" Fred exclaimed, jumping and showing off some moves/hero poses. Wasabi and Honey Lemon looked at him with excitement while Gogo simply kept a smirk. Tadashi sighed. They were dead set on this idea and quite frankly, the college student was beginning to like it too. Honey Lemon suddenly got out of her seat and took Tadashi's arm, her bubbly smile and excited eyes focused on him.

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

At the word fun, Tadashi felt a memory try to surface from the depths of his subconscious, his heart trying to tug it to the surface, but he was currently invested with the present and he could only speak words of submission. Tadashi smiled back at the honey blond.

"I guess I can make a fighting chip. I've seen it made enough times to know how it works."

* * *

Tadashi had never worked so quickly on something before. He had a lot on his plate. He had to quickly make Baymax a fighting chip and design and build armor. Quite frankly, despite the surprising speed, Tadashi felt a little out of his element. Every tap on the screen felt weird as he started designing something that was completely different from what he was used to…It was a little exciting. This was a whole new experience for him.

Actually, this was a whole new experience for everyone. None of them had really made rocket fists, or plasma blades, or maglev disks that acted like roller-skates. When they first started their research, they had never considered using them in ways like this. They had never considered this creativity, much less using the technology to fight for justice. Tadashi found it fascinating. He couldn't help but feel like he was being shown a tiny glimpse of what Hiro's world was like, a place with no limitations to possibility, and the older brother was finding it beautiful, free and fun.

Tadashi heard a crash of metal against floor and a cry. It was Wasabi. Strange that he was able to identify him with such a girly scream, making Tadashi raise a brow.

"Careful!"

"Sorry!"

Tadashi rolled his eyes, a clear picture of what was happening out there playing in his mind. He giggled a little as an image of Gogo scolding Wasabi entered his mind.

"Ow! You didn't have to pinch me!"

"How else am I going to make sure you don't do it again?"

"I'm not Fred! I don't need physical punishment!"

The black haired man smiled, but eventually found he shouldn't be focusing on the two people outside. He looked at the screen again to see how the download was going. However, upon looking into the computer, his eyes blurred and began to hurt. The college student groaned, rubbing his eyes. Looking at the screen too much was hurting his eyes. He turned away from the computer, twirling in this chair.

Baymax was in the corner, standing in waiting for his next set of upgrades. When the robot heard his creator's groan, he turned his camera to him, scanning his patient for injuries. He found none, aside from the irritation in the eyes from overexposure to computer light. Baymax blinked his eyes softly and analyzed something else that he scanned, watching as Tadashi removed his hands from his eyes and looked around the room.

"Data transfer complete."

The call from the computer interrupted his short break. Tadashi let out a happy sigh, glad that it was finished. Turning back, the black haired scientist took the chip out and went up to Baymax. Looking at his partner, he took a deep breath. Letting the breath out, he put the chip into Baymax, watching the robot join with the healthcare chip and add itself to Baymax's program. Baymax blinked, taking in his new update, before looking at himself and turning back to Tadashi. The college student shifted nervously under the gaze. "What is it?"

"Your emotional state has improved."

"Huh?"

"Your neurotransmitter levels are rising steadily. I can deactivate if you say you are satisfied with your care." Tadashi jumped back, shocked by the very idea.

"What?! No, I don't want you to deactivate, Baymax! We still have to find that guy!" Tadashi took Baymax and brought him outside, ignoring the curious brows of his friends. Once outside, the college student turned back to the healthcare robot with a sterner look. "Fire up that super sensor."

Baymax blinked and did as told. The marshmallow robot turned his camera as he scanned the area around them. "Functionality improved. 500% increase in range." Baymax continued to turn his head for a while before stopping. Tadashi looked to where his robot was staring. Baymax was gazing towards the sea. "I have found a match on an island close to San Fransokyo."

"Great. Let's go tell the others."


	8. Chapter 8: Transparent

**Chapter 8: Transparent**

Black Iris added the last of the adaptors and smiled at his handy work. After the computer broke, the hero had tried to forget the event and drowned himself in his invention, deciding to not check the theory and hoping his memory was reliable enough. He had scraped what he could from within the hideout and had not stopped building unless he felt hungry. As a result, he had finished late in the night. Taking in his new creation, his smile brightened and he raced to try it out.

Putting on his suit, he touched the square shaped machines on his armor. He activated his helmet, two smaller versions of the adaptor on the sides. Looking down, he pressed keys on his black pouch and a clear orb was created. He slammed it on the ground and pressed a button on his wrist. Immediately, the smoke began to move towards his body. The hero could almost feel the substance sticking to him and he smirked, pleased that it was working. As the last of the smoke disappeared, Black Iris slowly lifted his hand. Nothing. He couldn't see his hand at all. He jumped for joy. He was invisible and could actually move around.

"Yes!" he exclaimed and then he stopped jumping, slapping his hands on his mouth. ' _Oh no! I hope he didn't hear me!_ '

He turned to the door and listened for Heathcliff or Fred…After a few moments of silence, Black Iris sighed in relief, putting his arms down. He looked at the new addition to his suit, eyes trailing the connections until he noticed the time. His eyes widened. ' _I better hurry to Akuma Island!_ '

* * *

Fishermen were admirable. Black Iris believed that much. But mostly, he felt pity for them. Those men had to get up early every morning to set sail and catch enough fish to meet the people's demands. They were out there, alone with the constant risk of drowning and getting trapped in a storm. Or at least that was what the movies told him. Regardless, the currently transparent hero would need them and their boat. If he didn't have the heart to steal one, he may as well be a stowaway. That was his flawless plan. He would wait until they were super close to the island and then jump off for a few minute swim. A proud grin was on Black Iris' face as he remembered the life jacket he had installed in his chest armour. ' _I'm prepared for anything!_ '

Feeling ready, the invisible hero entered the docks, looking for a boat. It felt weird using this new device out in the open. A few times, Black Iris thought he was visible and someone was looking at him. No one was, of course. However, some people did glace around when they heard footsteps and couldn't find the source. Upon noticing this, the invisible hero started walking so slowly and quietly that he began thinking that the whole hero thing would have been easier if he were a ninja. ' _Oh well, live and learn_.'

He flinched when his iron tipped boot accidentally hit a metal pipe. Fear enveloped him and he stopped moving, listening to some fishermen, who stopped what they were doing as well to look around.

"What was that?" one of them asked, his black hair swinging around with his movements.

"Someone hitting metal against metal, Harry." the honey blond man replied sarcastically. He then turned his head to his other companion. "Naruto, stop it. We have work to do."

"Will you stop assuming things are my fault! I only got tangled in the net once!"

"You also tried to use a stick on a nail when you couldn't find a hammer. You nearly got my eye when it broke in half. I can't help but wonder..."

"Shut up, Luke!" Naruto exclaimed, angrily approaching Luke with a snarl. Harry got between them, trying to prevent any fights. Black Iris muttered an apology in his head for triggering an argument and decided he may as well sneak onto the boat they were loading, tip toeing around them.

"Calm down you two. It's too early in the morning for fighting. We're already behind schedule. Fight when you have nothing better to do, okay?"

"Fine." the blonds said in unison, but they were still glaring at each other as they continued to work.

Black Iris moved to a discrete spot on the boat, trying to make himself as small as possible so he wouldn't bump into someone. He leaned against the edge, watching as the fishermen got everything ready, loading nets and bait before heading inside to check everything. After a while, the boat began to hum and back away from the docks. The hero began to feel excitement run over him. He had never been on a boat before. He turned to the edge of the boat and watched the waves form over the blue waters.

As the fishermen's boat cleared the docks, it began to speed up, the white waves spreading farther like wings. The winds began to pass faster and faster. Black Iris wished he could feel it on his skin, not one breeze blowing through his hair. Mentally, he imagined turning off his suit and letting the wind touch him, let it tell him how fast they were going and give him the full experience, but if he actually did that, it would make him visible. He didn't want that, so he was left pouting, his lips puckering as he watched the docks get farther and farther away.

Feeling that it would be a while longer until he got close to Akuma Island, the transparent hero found his mind drifting to Tadashi and the others. Gogo was pretty mad at him and the others were wary, filled with questions about him and what was going on. Black Iris' heart squeezed as the grips of multiple emotions filled him. He wanted to cry and give the others a big hug, to confess everything, but fear wouldn't let him. That night when Yokai attacked, when he was alone with them, his mind had told him he should tell them his true identity. But _those_ images came to him and suddenly, he found fear had taken over the steering wheel, controlling his words.

The hero sighed. He hated this. He didn't want to keep secrets anymore. ' _That's it. When I see them again, I'm going to tell them!_ ' Black Iris thought to himself, clenching his fist in resolve.

He blinked when he noticed a large rock poking out of the water. He narrowed his eyes in an attempt to improve his vision. The rock looked strangely familiar. He blinked again.

It was Akuma Island…and it was getting smaller and smaller.

' _Oh no!_ '

* * *

Upon discovering where Yokai was, Tadashi and Baymax went back inside. It had been a quiet walk, the human determined to get his friends and the robot not knowing what to say after his creator's outburst. During their journey back to the lab, Baymax reviewed his information, trying to determine what the best treatment would be to help the college student. Tadashi, however, wanted nothing more than to get back to the others and head to Akuma Island. ' _This will be over soon. Yokai will be behind bars and Hiro will be avenged_.' he thought darkly to himself.

When they reached the lab, they were greeted by the sight of Honey Lemon and Fred excitedly carrying rocket arms.

"Baymax!" Honey Lemon exclaimed. "Come try your upgrade on!"

The robot walked to them, his rubber build squeaking the whole way. Bringing up the rocket powered fist, Fred happily tried to put it on Baymax. However, he soon frowned. The rocket wouldn't slide up Baymax's arm, rubber and air preventing it from doing so. The brunet pressed harder. Nothing. He then began to push harder and harder, groaning. Eventually, the comic book enthusiast was pushing the robot to the wall, making Honey Lemon and Tadashi stare at them awkwardly. Finally, after much struggle, Fred managed to get the new rocket on. Honey Lemon followed and both of them managed to get the second rocket fist on the robot. Once they did, Gogo and Wasabi emerged, carrying various pieces of black and turquoise armour. Baymax blinked as they came closer.

"Wow! Look at all of this!" Fred exclaimed, grabbing a piece of armour. Wasabi grinned.

"Well, we don't want Baymax to pop, right, Tadashi?" The baseball cap wearer shivered.

"Definitely! Thanks, guys." Tadashi said, glad that he had such considerate friends. Gogo looked at the piece of metal she was holding and then at Baymax.

"It feels weird giving a healthcare robot carbon fibre underwear."

"Nevermind that! Let's put it on him!" Fred exclaimed, draping an arm over the woman's shoulder. He then dragged her to the marshmallow robot, everyone going in after them. It was surprisingly difficult to put the armor on Baymax. It was, yet again, another awkward process. At first, every one of them struggled to get the pieces of armour onto the healthcare robot, repeating what Fred was doing with the rocket fists earlier. It was hard to get the armour to enwrap around the air filled robot. It kept popping off. But once they got the black base layer on, they just clicked on the armour plates. Finally, the last piece was in and the group took a look at their work.

It…didn't look right. The metal looked like it was desperately trying to squeeze in Baymax's huggable and plush look, and it was failing. The armour was thick and with the robot's added air filled arms, it looked incredibly difficult to move in. Baymax's stomach stuck out awkwardly, like the armour wasn't even going to try and hold that part back. The group blinked at the scene. Fred, however, soon returned to his cheerful self and rushed to pick something up.

"…I have some concerns. This armour may undermine my nonthreatening, huggable design."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Fred dismissed the Baymax's statements and instead, brought out a wooden board. "Punch this!"

Immediately, Baymax got into position and, with a fighting gleam in his camera eyes, he punched the board, breaking it in half. Everyone's faces brightened at the amazing display.

"Yes!" Fred exclaimed, immediately grabbing more boards and placing them between chairs. "Hammer Fist!"

Baymax instantly followed the order and chopped the wood in half with his hand, the pieces falling off the chairs. Fred then brought him Wasabi's tool desk.

"Hey!"

"Side Kick!" With his leg, Baymax kicked the desk, ruining the bandana wearer's organized system.

"No!" Wasabi cried, desperately trying to it back together. Fred ignored his friend and brought Baymax to Honey Lemon's chemistry table, the empty tubes sitting there, waiting to be used. However, the honey blonde was certain Fred wasn't going to make Baymax use them for what they were meant for. Letting out a squeak, she hurried after them and redirected the healthcare robot to her stacked chemistry books.

"Knife Hand!" The marshmallow robot sliced the books, allowing Honey Lemon to hide her delicate tools in the shelves. She let out a sigh of relief as Fred took Baymax somewhere else.

"Back Kick!" Gogo blew a bubble as Baymax hit the recycle bin filled with her failed maglev disks, popping it without a care.

As Fred started demanding, random karate moves, some of which the group swears he made up, Tadashi let out a sigh of relief. Though the armour didn't look perfect, the chip was functioning properly. Considering the fact that this was his first time designing one, he couldn't help but worry. He was glad it was a success. Now they just needed to make sure the last upgrade worked.

"Okay, that's enough." Tadashi said, making Fred pout in disappointment. He brought his hands together and bowed to Baymax. The robot imitated the motion. "Let's test that rocket fist out."

* * *

When they started wondering where they should test Baymax's rocket fist, Fred offered to do it out in his backyard. It seemed like a good idea. The place was big and it was a quiet neighbourhood. No one would notice. But once Fred pointed at something specific for Baymax to destroy, the group felt unsure about this.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Fred?" Honey Lemon asked.

"Won't your parents notice? It looks expensive." Wasabi added, pointing at the sophisticated statue of a nobleman. Gogo took a closer look at the statue before turning to Fred.

"What did the statue ever do to you?" she asked with a raised brow.

"I never liked it." Fred answered with a stern face. "There's just something about it that makes me think super villain."

Gogo turned back to the stone man, but this time with a more considerate look. "Now that you mention it…Baymax, destroy it."

Wasabi went pale. "Wait! Hold on-!"

The bandana wearer's objection was too late. Baymax had lifted his arm and fired. The group ducked in an attempt to avoid getting hit by the flying fist, falling to the ground. The robot's aim was perfect. It hit the statue, breaking it into a hundred pieces. The rocket fist even destroyed the wall behind the target. Fred cheered. Wasabi's eye twitched.

"Oh god, that almost hit me. We're gonna get in trouble."

"Nah, I'll get a new statue before my parents get back. This time, it'll be of a superhero!" The group sweat dropped, but Tadashi tried to bring logic back to the situation.

"What about your neighbours?" he asked, helping Honey Lemon up.

"No one has been living next door for ages. It's been for sale since forever."

"Uh-huh…"

Wasabi groaned, heading back into the mansion. "I'm going back inside before someone sees me."

"I'll join you." Gogo said, following after him.

The rest of the group watched the two enter the large house before turning back to the damage Baymax caused. Tadashi's face brightened at the results of their hard work. This will definitely give Yokai trouble.

"Well, Baymax is ready." Tadashi said with a proud smile.

"Yeah! Let's show that super villain who's boss!" Fred said, suddenly running towards the mansion. "I'll go get the helicopter ready!"

Tadashi blinked and turned to Baymax and Honey Lemon. The honey blonde smiled and started heading to the mansion as well. The leftover two followed her, finding there was nothing else to do outside. When the college student entered the building, he found Wasabi and Gogo wearing their own gear. Gogo, in her attempt to recreate Black Iris' disks, had created a sort of silver maglev roller skates. She seemed unbalanced, however. The disks were slanted and were moving too easily. She looked frustrated, but determined to get used to them. Wasabi, on the other hand, was wearing black gloves with wires connecting to a silver box on the top. He pressed a button and a plasma blade appeared. It was small like he said they would be. Tadashi tilted his head when the bandana wearer quickly turned it off.

"Wow, those look great!" Honey Lemon exclaimed. Gogo gave her a tired look.

"I wish they were as good as they looked."

"Oh please, they're great! Wasabi's plasma blades too!"

"Thanks, Honey Lemon."

"Since there are so many drawbacks, we'll have to be smart if we want to catch Yokai." Tadashi said, earning a nod from his companions. "We'll try and come up with a plan on the helicopter. For now, let's help Gogo get used to the disks."

* * *

Black Iris emerged from the water, legs shaking as he walked onto Akuma Island and gasping for air. When he was far enough away from the water, he fell to the ground. With his last bit of strength, the hero switched off his suit from life jacket mode and told it to remove any water holding him down.

The indigo hero lay there, trying to catch his breath and regain his strength. After he realized the distance between the boat and the island was getting too big, Black Iris jumped into the water, turning a few heads who were wondering what that large splash was. It had been a much longer swim than planned and the hero cursed himself for letting himself get distracted and for actually going with this half-baked idea.

' _God, that was a horrible plan! Why did I ever think it could work?! I am never doing that again!_ '

He was so tired now. He didn't want to move. Staying up all night and extreme exercise was too much for the thin body. Muscles screamed for rest and the mind was willing to grant the body's wish. Without thought, Black Iris fell asleep on the shores of Akuma Island.


	9. Chapter 9: Rage

**Chapter 9: Rage**

Tadashi was looking out the window. This was his first time flying in a helicopter and he couldn't deny that it was amazing. Looking down, he could see everything, the very essence of San Fransokyo, and it was the most amazing sight. With a sun setting in the sky, the lights of the city were emerging one by one like candles, yet there was enough sunlight to reflect off the city's tallest buildings. The hot air balloons that he admired as a child were now felt close enough to touch.

"Killer view." Gogo said, incredibly pleased. Honey shrugged her shoulders in agreement, a light smile on her face. Fred, in the front seat with Heathcliff at the steering wheel, merely nodded with a smirk. He seemed to fidget as if wanting to move his arms around, but was restraining himself. Wasabi, however, looked horrified, holding onto his seat between the two girls across from Tadashi and Baymax.

"Yeah, if I wasn't terrified of heights, I'd probably love this, but I'm terrified of heights, so I don't love it!" Wasabi said fearfully, gripping his seat even tighter.

Everyone let out a little chuckle at that. When he was done, Tadashi turned back to the window. They were now leaving the city, the ocean waters coming into view. Through the violet clouds, the college student could see fishing boats at the docks, unloading their day's work, sea gulls flying around, trying to steal some of it. As the city began to disappear, Akuma Island came into view, and soon, the helicopter began to descend.

Tadashi's gaze hardened.

The battle was about to begin.

* * *

Black Iris began to stir, hearing a loud noise. Beginning to break from his sleepy state, he opened his eyes. Blinking his eyes, he felt the soft earth beneath him, not really wanting to move. Lifting a hand to test his mobility motivation, his eyes narrowed at the fact that he could see his hand. The invisibility orb must have worn off. Sighing, he put his hand back down and closed his eyes. The indigo hero wanted to sleep more, but that loud sound wouldn't let him, practically yelling at him to wake up. The loud noise was coming from a helicopter. He quickly looked around before turning to the dark blue sky.

There was a helicopter landing and there was a symbol on it. Black Iris' eyes widened. It was Fred's family seal. ' _Why is he here?! He shouldn't know about this place!_ ' Then another thought entered the parallel universe jumper's mind. ' _If this world is following the same route as mine did, then_ …' Black Iris' eyes became frantic for a second and then he bolted into the forest.

' _Tadashi, Baymax, no!_ '

* * *

The group got off the helicopter after Heathcliff opened the door for them. As everyone in the back tried to get one at a time, Fred bounced out of his seat. He jumped in excitement.

"Awesome! First landing together as a team!" Everyone more or less ignored the brunet. Instead, they looked around. There was a metal fence with barb wire surrounding the area, separating the land from the sea. Crates and oil containers were scattered around the area. There was a dock to their left, but it was empty. To the right, they could see a yellow sign with a black skull and cross bones. There was another one closer to the group, but on their left. Wasabi focused his attention on one sign in particular, completely scared by the words 'caution' and 'quarantine.'

"Guys, come on." Tadashi said, not paying any heed to the yellow sign. The group looked at the facility. The walls were made with large rectangular slates. At the top of the slates, they could see rust and dirt heading down like a dirty waterfall, frozen halfway. Separating the walls from the roof was a metal trim with vertical four-sided dents. On the roof, the group could see multiple satellites, some large while some were smaller. There was a structure beside them, but they weren't sure what it contained. The only conclusion they could come up with was that it organized the satellites or had the electrical controls. However, the bandana wearer was focused on what they saw earlier.

"Quarantine!" Wasabi said in disbelief, pointing to the sign with his thumb as the group moved on, leaving him behind. "Um, do you people _know_ what 'quarantine' means?" Wasabi threw his arms and shook his head, giving up as he saw that no one was listening. They were too busy keeping an eye out for danger.

Baymax lifted his finger in a matter-of-fact way in response to Wasabi's question. "Quarantine: a forced isolation to prevent contamination to disease or, in some cases, death."

"Oh! There's a skull face on this one! A SKULL face!" Wasabi exclaimed, pointing at another sign as everyone turned the corner. When they did, they found a metal door. The group went up to it cautiously and, in some, nervously.

"Be ready. He could be anywhere." Tadashi said warily.

Suddenly, the sound of a branch snapping made the group jump and scream. Wasabi started slashing blindly into the air with his plasma daggers, hoping that whatever made that sound wouldn't come near him, screaming. Honey Lemon cowered behind Tadashi, holding him in fear as he covered her with his arm. Fred started doing random karate moves as Gogo turned to look for their opponent so she could smack them.

"Keep firing! Keep firing!" the comic book lover shouted. However, when they found that nothing seemed to be happening, they stopped looking around franticly and looked down. A pigeon was staring at them, tilting its head and cooing at them as if to say: 'huh?' Deciding not to hang around these weirdoes anymore, the grey bird flew up. The group stared as it flew high in the air. "…That was a bird."

Honey Lemon laughed guiltily. "Well, at least we know the gear works!"

Everyone looked at her, uncertain about how to respond to her optimism. Deciding to just agree with it, Tadashi walked around Baymax and tried to open the door. The group turned to him expectedly. He turned the handle with all his might, groaning, but it wouldn't budge. Giving up, the blazer wearer let go, lifting his baseball cap to put a hand on his forehead. "Argh, it's locked." He turned to the bandana wearer. "Wasabi?"

"I got it."

Wasabi approached the metal door, the group getting out of his way. With his plasma daggers, he proceeded to make an opening by cutting a hole. Struggling against the metal, he couldn't make the perfect circle he wanted. However, upon reaching the end, Wasabi missed the starting point, unintentionally going over it. Going back, he tried again, frustration rising. As it moved, the dagger curved too far downwards, making Wasabi yell in anger and he took the blade out of the door, only to slash at the door from a previous end to the starting point. The group watched as the piece of door fell from its place, giving them access to the inside as dust flew in the air.

Before them was a dark corridor with dim light to lead the way. It curved rather than give a straight line. Vents and pipes layered the ceiling. Cagey tiled littered the center of the floor. The place was ominous and hollow. The group looked at each other before Tadashi nodded, signalling that they should head inside.

With cautious steps, they went inside, Tadashi and Baymax leading the way with Gogo and Honey Lemon in the back. The group kept an eye out for Yokai or anyone that happened to be here. They weren't completely sure where they were going, but after a while, they found two paths, one continuing forward and another that veered left. Both routes looked exactly the same, so it was hard to make a deduction. Deciding to go left, the group continued this course of action. Of course, none of the tension seemed to bother Fred.

"Six intrepid friends, whose led by Fred, their leader~! Fred! Fred's Angels~! Hmm, hmmm~! Fred's Angels~! Hmm, hmmm~!" Fred sang, distracting Wasabi, who wanted him to stop and was getting more and more agrivated as the song continued. "Harnessing the power of the sun with the ancient amulet they found in the attic~! Hmm, hm, hmmm~! The amulet is green~! Hmm, hm, hmmm~! It's probably an emerald~! Hmm, hm-"

"Fred!" Wasabi interjected angrily. Fred turned to him, putting his arms down. "I will laser hand you in the face."

"Guys! Shh!" Tadashi shushed before turning to the armoured robot. "Any sign of him, Baymax?" The armoured robot's camera tried focusing, but no matter what he did, the sensor gave him an unfocused result.

"This structure is interfering with my sensor." the robot stated as the group passed a door.

"Perfect. The robot's broken." Wasabi commented. Honey Lemon looked at the door and approached it, letting everyone else go ahead of her as she peeked inside.

"Uh, guys, you might want to see this." she called out calmly. This made the others hold a curious gaze. As they approached, Honey Lemon pushed the door open. Once the entrance was wide enough, they entered the room. The groups found themselves on a metal balcony and it gave them a good view of what was around them.

The place looked like a warehouse, but there was an opening in the roof that allowed the moon light to shine through, revealing the contents of the place. Their eyes widened at what they saw. At the other side of the room were two large, circular structures made of metal. Cables stuck from it like the branches of a tree. One of the circular machines wasn't even close to looking complete. The other appeared to be only two-thirds together. Neither of them seemed very functional, but from the shine, some of the materials were relatively new.

"What do you think it is, Tadashi?" Gogo asked, staring at the more completed machine.

"I'm not sure." Tadashi replied, moving his gaze downward. His eyes narrowed. There was a red bird painted over a white background. He recognized that symbol. "But look. I think that's the piece I saw Yokai carrying at the docks!"

"Tadashi." Honey Lemon called. Tadashi turned to her before looking to where she turned her head. There was an observation room to their left, a dim red light shining through the clear windows. Nodding their heads at each other, the group quietly crept towards it, keeping an eye out for anything dangerous. Once at the door, they moved to the sides, getting Baymax to slowly open the door.

Inside were multiple chairs next to the same number of computers. All the screens were black and all the chairs were empty, not a soul in sight. Opposite to them was another door that led to a similar balcony to the one they were preciously on. A container with a caution skull and yellow-black tape was blocking their view of whatever was creating that red light.

Tadashi was the first to step through the door, moving cautiously to not draw any possible attention. Gogo and Fred followed after him and soon the others came in as well. Passing the container, Tadashi saw that the red light was coming from a computer with the bird symbol on it. However, this time the bird was black on a field of red. The baseball cap wearer moved towards it, looking down the various buttons before pressing one of them. Immediately, the screen changed, revealing the security footage. Out of the nine squares, only one of them had a picture. In it was Krei, surrounded by scientists and government officials, bending over one of the computers from earlier.

"Krei." Tadashi muttered. Looking back down, he pressed another button, making the footage go back until he found a good point to start.

" _That's right. We were asked to do the impossible. That's what we did. We've reinvented the very concept of transportation._ "Krei said to four government officials, walking towards the circular machine. It was complete, as was the other one. The room was bright under the white lights. A scientist was standing in front of the other machine. " _Friends, I present project silent sparrow!_ "

Suddenly, the machine turned on, glowing a light blue that rivaled the lights above, moving like ripples in water. Gogo and Honey Lemon looked at each other in surprise. These machines were portals. The group became curious, wondering what happened to make them abandon this place.

" _General, may I?_ " Krei asked, gesturing at the larger man's hat. The general looked at it before handing it to the business man. Krei nodded and threw it at the portal. On the other side of the room, the scientist standing in front of the second portal caught the general's hat as it flew straight for his chest. The scientist waved the hat at them. Tadashi and the others' eyes widened, leaning back and mouths gaping in shock.

"Whoa! Magic hat!" Fred cried out. The scientist turned back to the portal and threw the hat back into it, making it land perfectly into Krei's hand a moment later. The general laughed in satisfaction.

" _Teleportation_." Krei said, dusting the hat off as he handed it back to the general. " _The transport of matter instantaneously through space. Not science fiction anymore_." With that, the business man led the officials back to the observation room. The government officials looked around at the multiple scientists and computers, taking it all in. Krei continued. " _Now, we didn't spend billions of tax dollars to teleport hats. Ladies and gentlemen, you're here to witness history_." He turned to one of the computer consoles and pressed a button. " _Ready to go for a ride, Abigail?_ "

" _We've invited all these people, might as well give 'em a show_." A woman in a white suit and helmet stepped into a pod, a bright and excited smile on her face. Pressing switches within the pod, it began to close, locking her inside. The pod began moving closer to portal one.

" _T-minus thirty seconds to launch._ " a computer voice said. " _Twenty-nine...Twenty-eigh_ t..."

" _This is argo_."

" _Capsule's in position_."

" _Twenty-seven_..."

" _Sir, we've picked up a slight irregularity in the magnetic containment field_." a male scientist said, a frown of worry on his face. Krei turned to him, bending down for a closer look as the general looking over the scientist's shoulder.

" _Mr. Krei, is there a problem?_ " the general said suspiciously. Krei straightened himself and turned back to his audience, backing off with hands behind his back. " _No. No problem. It's well within the parameters._ " Some of the scientists looked at him weirdly, but never said anything, turning back to their duties." _Let's move forward_."

Abigail took a deep breath and closed her eyes, removing any insecurity. When she opened her hazel eyes, they were filled with determination and courage. " _Three...Two...One..._ "

" _Cabin pressure is go_."

" _Pod engaged_." Abigail leaned back as the pod began to move, zooming into the portal. When she went inside, it created a ripple.

" _Field breach! Abort!_ " another scientist cried. " _We've lost all contact with the pod_." Krei leaned back down, checking over the computer. Portal two began to glow orange-red in heat before exploding, fire blazing out of it. The group of college students gasped at the sight.

"Oh, no." Honey Lemon muttered sadly.

" _It's breaking up!_ "

" _The pilot is gone_."

" _Portal two is down_." Krei tried pressing some keys, making the scientist in front of him move back to give him space. Portal one suddenly started sucking things in, bits of broken metal being the first to go.

" _The magnetic containment field's down!_ " One of the cameras broke, now revealing a black screen. The observation room shook, making everyone brace themselves. It was about to go into the portal too.

" _Krei, shut it down now!_ "Following the general's orders, Krei started pressing keys again before slamming his hand on the last one. Portal one shut off, the loose metal pieces falling down. " _I want this island sealed off!_ "

"The government shut down Krei's experiment." Tadashi said in disbelief.

"And he's using Hiro's microbots to steal his machine back." Honey Lemon added. Baymax turned around, sensing something. There was a giant piece of concrete outside the window.

Tadashi was unaware of the coming danger. "Krei is the guy in the mask."

"Oh no." Baymax said. The group turned around, but it was already too late. The concrete shattered the glass, destroying whatever was in that room. Yokai, standing on his microbots, started turning away, believing they were finished.

Honey Lemon coughed as the armoured robot lifted the concrete with his back, acting as their shield against the piece of rock. The group stood up.

"Baymax, get us out of here." Tadashi ordered. Immediately, Baymax shot a rocket powered first into the concrete, breaking it into tiny pieces. Yokai turned back to them, surprised. The rocket fist came back to Baymax, clicking into place.

"Go for the transmitter. Behind his mask." Tadashi instructed. It was the only plan he could come up with in the helicopter. Yokai shook his head in annoyance and sent microbots towards them. In an attempt to protect everyone, Baymax brought up one of the pieces of concrete and used it as a shield, only for it to break and send the armoured robot backwards.

"Baymax!" Tadashi cried out, jumping over debris to reach his creation. Wasabi looked to the rest of the group.

"All right, what's the plan?"

"It's Fred time." Fred said with a smirk. The brunet then proceeded to run. He jumped with all his strength upon reaching the edge, soaring in the air. "Super jump!" Yokai watched as the brunet started coming towards him. "Gravity crush!" Without lifting a finger, the man in black made the microbots hit the comic lover, making his opponent fall away from him. "Falling hard."

"Seriously, what is the plan?" Wasabi asked more desperately. Gogo merely turned on her maglev dicks.

"Get the mask." With that, she zoomed away.

"Right behind you." Honey Lemon said, following after her.

"For real, what is the plan?!"

Gogo ignored him. Instead, she glided along some metal cables, throwing some debris she picked up at her opponent. It missed. She flipped off the cable and started zooming on a different cable. Yokai shot some microbot attacks at her. She dodged each one and then threw another piece of debris. It hit him right on the forehead of his mask, making him hold his head. As she went around him, he emerged from his hands and tried attacking her again, missing again as she moved around the room like she was on a skateboard. Gogo started moving away from Yokai, making him chase after her.

As this was going on, Honey Lemon started climbing down a metal pole, making sure she isn't seen. She watched as Gogo made another attack at Yokai, the villain following each of her attempts with an attack of his own. Gogo started gliding along the wall with Yokai right behind her, Honey Lemon gripped a piece of debris she found.

The black haired woman jumped down, her agility allowing her to dodge another attack, and tried to hit her opponent with another piece of concrete. Yokai moved out of the debris' way, just in time for the honey blonde to come out and get hit on the head. The concrete she was holding flew into the air and landed in front of her comrade. Gogo was unable to avoid in time and she tripped, sliding right into her friend, making her fall over. The two groaned. Yokai was about to attack again until a voice called.

"Hey!" The villain turned to see Wasabi, who backed away when the attention was suddenly on him. "You want to dance, masked man? Huh?" The bandana wearer said uncertainly before jumping, getting pumped up. "'Cause you'll be dancing with these." Bringin up his hands, two plasma daggers appeared, glowing a dangerous green as he swung them around. "Hand over the mask, or you'll get a taste of this! And a little bit of that! Hah!"

Yokai started using the microbots to create multiple attacks at once. Wasabi started slashing at the microbots at random. Surprisingly, he was able to get every single one of them, coming out without a single scratch.

"Whoo! Hey! I did all right." he said in surprised relief. He turned back to his opponent. "Is that all you got?" Wasabi was about to move, but he just couldn't. Looking down, the bandana wearer found his feet trapped in micorbots. "Oh. You got that, too?"

With two fingers, Yokai ordered the microbots to fling Wasabi to the side. Fred suddenly emerged, jumping around, unaware of what was coming his way. "It's back into the fire!"

Wasabi crashed into him, making them slide right into Gogo and Honey Lemon. As they tried to get up, Yokai created a wave of microbots, getting ready to squash them. His hands moving to emphasize his commands, he was about to deliver the final attack when suddenly, a rocket powered fist slammed into the microbots, catching the villain off-guard. Not a second later, Tadashi jumped from a metal cable, crashing into Yokai. Upon collision, the mask fell off, making the little black machines fall limp, some landing on the group. Recovering, Tadashi looked up and saw the mask. He quickly grabbed it and turned to Yokai, staring at the man's back as he stood up. From a balcony, the others gathered behind him.

"It's over, Krei." Slowly, the man started to stand up and he turned around, revealing a very angry Professor Callaghan. Tadashi's glare softened into one of confusion. "Pro-Professor Callaghan?" The group behind him gasped, completely shocked. "The explosion...You died."

"No. I had the microbots."

"But, Hiro. You just let him die." Tadashi said, holding back a sob, unable to stop the crack in his voice.

"Give me the mask, Tadashi." Callaghan approached the younger male, hand outstretched violently. Tadashi backed away from him.

"He went to the convention because of you!"

"That was his mistake!"

Those words made Tadashi's blood go cold, his eyes wide. Callaghan killed Hiro and he was in no way remorseful. Callaghan didn't care that his actions had taken a life, that he caused the demise of a sweet, smart fourteen year old boy. It was his fault. It was his fault. IT WAS HIS FAULT! Tadashi's gaze turned into a harsh glare as Baymax came to his side. Any form of respect or rationality just washed out of him and was replaced with pure rage.

"Baymax, destroy." Tadashi ordered darkly. Callaghan's face changed from anger to worry. He had never thought the younger male could say such words. Baymax turned to him.

"My programing prevents me from injuring a human being."

"Not anymore." Without a second thought, the inventor opened Baymax and took out the healthcare chip, throwing it away.

"Tadashi, this is not what-" Not willing to listen, Tadashi pushed the fighting chip back in. Immediately, Baymax's vision went completely red.

"Do it, Baymax!" Tadashi roared, making the armed robot turn to him. "Destroy him!" Baymax quickly lifted his arm and fired his rocket powered fist. Callaghan got out of the way, trying to make a break for it as Baymax got reloaded and got ready to shoot again. Gogo appeared and tackled the robot's arm, making him miss his target.

"No! Stop, Baymax!" she cried, trying to push him back, but he wouldn't listen. The robot knocked her away. She crashed into the wall as he got his arm back. Baymax then proceeded to chased after Callaghan, who was scrambling to get away. The robot started knocking over metal beams, his red eyes focused on his target.

Suddenly, out of the blue, Black Iris appeared, knocking Baymax to the ground with two feet to the face. The group saw this, but did not have much time to react as he jumped back when the armoured robot tried to grab the indigo hero as he got off the ground. However, while Black Iris managed to get away, it wasn't a complete miss. Baymax had succeeded in grabbing his opponent's metal pouch. The hero widened his eyes with a gasp as the robot threw it to the side and started to approach him.

A movement seen from the corner of Baymax's camera made the robot turn its head, vision focusing on his original target. Callaghan was trying to get away, using Black Iris as a distraction. Turning away from the hero, the robot went after the villain, breaking pillars that were in his way.

"No! Baymax!" Black Iris exclaimed, going after him again. He tried to reach for the robot's chest in an attempt to remove the fighting chip, but Baymax intercepted it and the two started to block and attack each other with karate moves. "Tadashi! Please! You have to stop him!"

"No, you stop! He's getting away!" Tadashi cried, gripping the mask harder as he gestured to Callaghan. Black Iris grunted in frustration.

"Baymax, that's enough!" the indigo hero cried, punching Baymax in the head. Flipping and kicking, Black Iris was able to hold his own against the armed robot while trying to reach the chip, but just as he was about to reach it, Baymax activated his rocket powered arm. It hit Black Iris right in the chest armour, knocking him back into a staircase, the metal breaking upon impact.

In a lame attempt, Fred tried to stop Baymax as well, grabbing hold of Baymax's arm. It wasn't effective. Baymax threw him off with ease, knocking the brunet into Tadashi. This crash made the inventor drop the mask and ultimately giving Yokai his chance to grab it.

"Baymax!" Gogo called, grabbing his arm, trying to hold him back. Wasabi and Fred joined her, grabbing the robot's leg and torso. Yokai called the microbots, disappearing to the upper levels before Tadashi's very eyes. Honey Lemon found the healthcare chip and knew exactly what to do. As her friends were knocked off, just as Baymax was about to shoot his rocket fist at Yokai, Honey Lemon put the chip back where it belonged. Baymax's arm lowered as his usual self returned. With that, Yokai successfully escaped.

Honey Lemon let out a sigh of relief as she noticed the look in Baymax's eyes changed. Fred groaned, struggling to get up. Baymax blinked at the scene, tilting his head in various angles. He knew what he had done.

"My healthcare protocol has been violated." Baymax turned to the group, helping Fred get back on his feet. He watched as the group backed away a little, panting. "I regret any distress I may have caused."

"How could you do that? I had him!" Tadashi yelled, going up to a distressed Honey Lemon. Wasabi gently pushed him back.

"What you just did, we never signed up for."

"We said we'd catch the guy." Tadashi turned away as Gogo glared at him angrily. "That's it."

Just as Tadashi was about to retort, Baymax said something that would change everything.

"Hiro is hurt. He must receive medical attention." Everyone froze, their eyes wide.

"W-What?" Tadashi looked at his robot in shock. As Baymax started walking, the group's gaze followed him to the spot where Black Iris had fallen unconscious.

Upon being hit by Baymax's fist and crashing into the staircase, Black Iris' helmet had been knocked off, revealing a very familiar mop of hair. Tadashi couldn't believe his eyes.

"…H-Hiro?"


	10. Chapter 10: Fallen Angels

**Chapter 10: Fallen Angels**

Tadashi could not move his eyes away from the unconscious figure. Lying in the rubble was his brother, Hiro. Tadashi could recognize that hair style and sleeping face anywhere. But was this really him? Whatever baby fat was left on Hiro's face was now gone, leaving a malnourished, but grownup look. His dark brown locks were longer, especially his bangs, some strands reaching his mouth as he lay on his side and some more dishevelled. The shorter locks clung to his face. The ones that were closer to the ground touched the rubble, longer strands laying on it thanks to gravity. His body was taller, around Gogo's height. It was not a big difference, but it was still enough that it felt strange.

This Hiro didn't quite look like the Hiro he knew. This one was…older, taller, closer to their age than fourteen. It made absolutely no sense. Hiro was much younger a few weeks ago. He could not have grown that big in such a short amount of time.

Tadashi shook his head and turned back at Hiro with a strained look. No, this wasn't right. Hiro had died in the fire. Tadashi had gone to his funeral. So what the hell was going on? Everyone else seemed to be having the same thoughts, looking to each other in the hopes someone had an explanation. Once Baymax reached Hiro, he moved the patient onto his back, those soft strands moving to the adjustment, and tried to remove the armour, lifting a plate and trying to make it budge. It didn't work, making him back off after a moment. He looked over the injured hero, tilting his head as he tried to figure out how to treat his patient if he can't gain access to the wound.

"Baymax, explanation." Gogo demanded, stepping forward. Baymax blinked at her. He stood up and opened Hiro's file, showing the group his analysis on his stomach. Two body pictures emerged, one small, the other large. Signs began to pop up as Baymax enlightened the group.

"Hiro Hamada. Last checkup was: 3 weeks ago. Changes since last scan include: increased height from 138 centimeters to 162 centimeters. Estimated weight was 90 pounds and is now 97 pounds. There is an abnormality in the brain, but he is at the end of puberty, resulting in hair growing in his face, chest, armpits, and-"

"Whoa! Too much information, buddy! Just skip to the diagnosis!" Wasabi cried, holding his hands out as a signal for him to stop. Baymax blinked at him before bringing up a finger.

"Diagnosis: malnourishment and traveled through time; 5 years, by my estimations." There was a pause before everyone shouted.

"How did you come to that assumption?!"

"It is the only conclusion I can come up with for the unnatural growth as there are no abnormal substances in his body."

"Y-You're kidding!" Gogo ran a hand through her hair. This was too unbelievable.

"I am a robot. I cannot 'kid.'"

Wasabi looked like he was about to go into hysterics. "S-S-So you're saying, this really is Hiro five years in the future?!"

"Yes."

"But how can that be?! Hiro is-" Fred caught himself before saying the _word_. "…not around anymore, so how can an older version of him travel back in time?!"

"I do not have the information to give a clear answer. This is only an assumption created to suit the evidence."

"What's going on…?" Honey Lemon muttered, confused and worried, her eyes downcast.

Tadashi couldn't believe what he was hearing. His mind seemed to go completely blank at what Baymax was saying. Tadashi took a hesitant step forward, then another, and another, until finally, he was in front of his little brother. Being so close to him and overwhelmed, he collapsed before the unconscious figure. His hands shook as they reached out to cup his brother's face. He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, trying to hold back his tears of happiness. This was real. Leaning forward, he put his forehead against the other's before burying his face into those untameable, soft locks. Tadashi knew this scent, this skin, this warmth; he had missed it so much. This was his Hiro.

Tadashi let out another shaky breath. Happiness enveloped his soul. His brother, through some miracle, had returned to him. He didn't care if Hiro was older. No matter what, throughout time and space, Hiro would always be his litter brother.

The moment of relief was ruined when Baymax interrupted.

"Tadashi, though his armour protected him, Hiro has 5 bruised ribs. I recommend we-"

The inventor froze and his eyes widened, unable to hear anything else the robot said. Hiro was…hurt. And it was because of him, because of his rage. He had hurt Hiro through Baymax, a robot he had designed to heal people. Tadashi turned to the marshmallow robot. Baymax held his gaze down at Hiro as if in guilt, trying to find a way to get the armour off as the camera never left the location of the wound. Tadashi looked back at his brother as Gogo, Honey Lemon stood aside, trying to get a good look at Hiro, wanting to make sure he was okay, as Fred and Wasabi were hovering over him, asking Tadashi for permission to move him. They couldn't get an answer out of him because, in that moment, Tadashi realized what he had done.

In his rage, he had tried to kill someone, and in doing so, had hurt all the people around him, the people he was close to and who knew him better than anyone. He wouldn't listen to any of them when he was going to do something he would regret. Tadashi started to feel disgusted with himself, at his selfishness. He had always done his best to focus on the wellbeing of others, but suddenly, those horrible negative emotions beat his morals down and he snapped. He felt like he would never be able to do anything without that moment of hatred haunting him. He brought Hiro's head closer to himself in an unconscious attempt to comfort himself. It almost worked, but Tadashi could not stop hating himself.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered to everyone absentmindedly, petting Hiro's locks. The group looked at each other sorrowfully before turning to Hiro, having an idea of what the older brother was feeling right now.

"…It's okay." Honey Lemon said, trying to be comforting.

Tadashi didn't hear her.

He was already lost in his thoughts, closed off from the outside world as he fell into a trance.

* * *

Everyone was sitting quietly in the helicopter. Tadashi hadn't said a word since his apology. When they had decided to go back to Fred's mansion, Tadashi merely followed, always keeping blank eyes on the unconscious boy in his arms. Honey Lemon held Hiro's chemistry pouch close to her chest as Wasabi held onto the sleeping boy's helmet. Even when Fred tried to lighten the mood by making silly comments, the blazer wearer would not answer.

Once they had reached the helicopter, Heathcliff was there to greet them. The butler's eyes widened at the boy in Tadashi's arms. He looked to his young master before turning back to Hiro, the gears of thought clearly spinning in his head. He, too, chose to say or ask nothing, moving to let the group into the helicopter. Everyone got into their previous seats, Hiro resting on Baymax and Tadashi, an arm on his stomach and another hanging limply over Tadashi's knees. Heathcliff got inside as well. He had turned to Fred and the others, examining their facial expressions before starting the helicopter.

The group was still processing everything they had learned. When the helicopter began to lift off, most of them looked out the window, getting one last look at Akuma Island through the darkness of night, the place that would forever be a memory of revelations that changed everything. The battle there was over and now they were heading home to tend to their wounds, physical and psychological. They were all worried about Tadashi. What was he thinking? What emotions could be running around his head? Was he going to be okay? They sensed he was feeling guilty, but none of them knew how to heal him. Usually Gogo had something, but today, she too was oddly silent.

Wasabi began to fidget, fiddling with the helmet in his hands. The silence and the fact that they were flying was making him restless. He wanted to break this suffocating mood, or at least find a good distraction. His brows narrowed, trying to think of something to say, maybe even a comforting topic. Looking around, changing his seating position every three seconds, the bandana wearer tried to find something to say. Nothing on the helicopter was giving him any inspiration, so he looked at everyone else. Honey Lemon was staring at the pouch, her hands tracing over the buttons gently. Gogo was looking out the window, clearly lost in her thoughts as deeply as Tadashi was, though sometimes she would glance at Hiro before turning back to the sky. Fred kept turning his head to them from the passenger seat next to the pilot. Like Wasabi, the brunet looked like he wanted to say something, but nothing seemed like good conversation starters.

Wasabi's dark chocolate fingers traced over the helmet before turning to the remaining three. Tadashi's eyes were blank, no emotion in his eyes. It was worrying. They were usually so bright. It was like he was hypnotized, entranced by his own desire to avoid the harshness of reality by rejecting to interact with it and remove any feelings that might make his heart shatter. It was like when Hiro "died." There was just no reaching him. Grief took Wasabi, feeling helpless. He wanted to help Tadashi, but what could you say in this situation. Clearly there would be no good inspiration by looking at him. Movement caught the bandana wearer's eye. Baymax was still trying to figure out how to remove Hiro's armour, poking it with his finger. Wasabi's shoulders sagged. If it weren't for the fact that this was Baymax, he would have thought those lame attempts were rather half-hearted.

That was when something caught his eye. There seemed to be an armour lid on Hiro's right arm. It was different from the left arm, no symmetry at all. That made Wasabi's eye twitch a little in irritation, but it also made him curious. He wanted to open it and see the reason why this choice of anarchy was made, even if a bone in his body was saying possible danger. Giving in, he leaned forward, catching everyone's attention. Pressing and letting go, the lid opened, revealing some colourful buttons, a mini keyboard and a screen. The green, yellow, and indigo buttons caught his gaze. His mind immediately started associating the colours with instinctual knowledge. Green, laser. Yellow, maglev. Indigo, Hiro. That last one sounded interesting to press. As he leaned forward again, Tadashi's eyes snapped out of the trance at the idea that Wasabi's action might hurt Hiro if one of those buttons were pressed.

"W-Wait! Don't-!"

It was too late. Wasabi had pressed the indigo button. The click caught everyone's attention.

Their eyes widened at what happened next, gasping.

Immediately upon activation, indigo and black started to move. As Fred got out of his seat to get a better view, the dark blue armour plating was beginning to flip and twist as they moved to Hiro's chest, forming a comfortable looking cobalt sweater. The heltmet in Wasabi's hands seem to melt itself to join the frenzy. Black began to merge together on five different parts of Hiro's body. They clung to his wrists and ankles like shackles, two yellow gems gleaming on his ankles while two similar green gems rested on the wrists. Some of the black plating ran to Honey Lemon, making her back up in her seat and squeak. They went up to the black pouch in her arms and covered the orange periodic table, making the honey blonde blink at it. Whatever black was left started gathering at Hiro's neck, forming a black collar with a blue gem. The scene was like magic.

' _Hiro magic_.' Tadashi's mind supplied dumbly.

"Whoa. Awesome!" Fred said in awe at the transformation.

Tadashi's head started to flick side to side, taking in Hiro's new form. With the suit gone, casual clothes were revealed to the world. The younger brother had a red shirt under that indigo sweater with a rusty brown-red pattern on it. Beige capris covered most of Hiro's legs. Both of them were ripped in some places, one of them even had a poor attempt of a patch job. Tadashi could swear Hiro hadn't changed his clothes, much less style and wardrobe, for a long time. It was so much so that the fabric was falling apart. The only thing that really changed was Hiro's shoes, which were black and white.

Finding access now available, Baymax moved Hiro's shirt up, the fabric ripping at the stretch. Tadashi flinched at the somewhat visible ribs. There was a rather ugly spot of purple beginning to form. He turned away, unable to look at it anymore. Baymax's hand began to glow blue, radiating a cool temperature. He put his hand on the bruised area, careful to not put pressure on the wounded ribs yet close enough to cool down inflammation. He made a metal note to give Hiro aspirin later. The boy would need it to deal with the pain. As this was going on, Gogo got up from her spot and went for the black bracelet on Hiro's dangling wrist. She lifted it up to inspect it.

"Incredible. How did he get it to compact together like that?" Moving the arm around, she inspected different angles of the device. Finally, Gogo stopped to look at the green gem. Her finger traced it before looking over the black again. But in doing so, she put pressure on the gem with her finger. It clicked and the bracelet slipped from her hands, falling to the floor. "…Oops."

"Cool! They come off!" exclaimed Fred, a little jumpy in his seat. He leaned forward and pressed on the other bracelet's gem. The same thing happened and he took it unlocked cuff. "These things are awesome!"

Wasabi and Honey Lemon looked at each other before letting the want to try it too take over. They leaned for Hiro's ankles, removing the anklets. They looked at them in curiosity, wondering how they work. Tadashi blinked at his friends. He then noticed there was one piece left, the collar. He didn't like it there. To Tadashi, it represented a burden that Hiro never deserved. Slowly, he reached for it, gently pressing the indigo gem. With a click, it unlocked, allowing him to take it. Rather than inspect it like everyone else, he put it between him and Baymax.

That was when his eyes caught sight of the memory stick hanging on Hiro's neck. It had been camouflaged with the color of the suit and blended with the black accessories, but now, it stood out against the red shirt. His eyes narrowed. Without much thought, he reached over and took it, maneuvering the strap around Hiro's head.

"Why does Hiro have a memory stick?"

The others looked at him. Their faces changed as they tried to come up with answers.

"Oh! Oh! Maybe it has a bunch of super important secrets and Hiro doesn't want them to fall into the wrong hands!" Fred exclaimed.

"Maybe it has all the blueprints for his gear." Gogo added, smirking to herself with a gleam in her eyes. Wasabi crossed his arms over his chest and nodded, agreeing with the woman beside him.

"Maybe it can tell us the reason why he traveled through time."

"It could hold all sorts of answers…How about we check it out?" Honey Lemon suggested, smiling. She was happy that they were communicating again. The others chorused in agreement. They really wanted to know what was on it.

Tadashi looked back at the device, considering the honey blonde's words. So many possibilities, so many questions. If this thing could answer any of them, he couldn't deny that he wanted to check it out.

* * *

Upon reaching the mansion, Heathcliff proceeded to land the helicopter. As the group in the back let themselves out, the butler went around and opened the door for his young master. Once out of the helicopter, Fred led his friends to the mansion while Heathcliff locked the machine and moved on to other duties, as well as his own thoughts.

The group went through many corridors until they eventually found themselves in a bedroom filled with comic books, posters, and action figures. What made this place different from the entertainment room were the large bed and the computer next to it. Tadashi brought Hiro to the bed, tucking him under the covers and placing the gear on the bedside table. He remained sitting on the bed as the others quickly turned on the computer.

Fred practically bounced in his chair as the computer started up. Honey Lemon giggled excitedly as she put the memory stick into the machine. It was at that overexcitement that made Wasabi start to question their actions. Wasabi looked to his friends with a raised brow.

"Whatever happened to snooping is wrong?" Gogo rolled her eyes.

"If he didn't want us to snoop, he shouldn't have left us out of the loop like that!"

Fred made a frenzy of clicks until he opened up the memory stick as Tadashi stood up and moved so he could see the screen. Various labels appeared: 2150, 2151, 2152, etc.

"Are those dates?" Honey Lemon asked. Taking over the mouse, she clicked on the folder named 2150. Multiple saved blueprints emerged; Gogo, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Fred, Baymax, The Amazing Me. Everyone sweat dropped at that last one. But what stood out amongst them was a footage clip labeled: Baymax's Memories. That really got their attention. Why were Baymax's memories on the USB? The group turned to Baymax, who blinked slowly before turning his attention back to his patient.

As the group looked at each other, Fred looked back at the computer with serious eyes, took the mouse, and pressed to open it.

* * *

 **Happy Halloween, everyone!**


	11. Chapter 11: Past

**Chapter 11: Past**

The video started with a scene that Tadashi was very familiar with. It was his lab. He and Hiro were standing in Baymax's view, the younger holding his arm.

" _This is what I've been working on_." the video Tadashi said with a smile, one his friends hadn't seen in a while. Hiro's eyes softened in curiosity as he took in the robot's form. Tadashi would not of have turned away from that face, but the camera moved down as Baymax stepped out of his charger. The marshmallow robot started walking towards them, but stopped upon hitting a chair. Looking down at it, he picked it up and tried to find somewhere to put it. Once Baymax found a clear area, he set the stool down and made his way to Hiro, who was looking at the robot nervously.

This scene was just as awkward in Baymax's point of view as it was to Tadashi's that day, and it warmed the creator's heart. Just to see Hiro as he once was, alive, smaller, still as shy and cute as ever, made all the love for his brother course through his soul.

" _Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. I was alerted to the need for medical attention when you said, 'ow.'_ "

" _A robotic nurse_ …" Hiro raised a brow skeptically. Baymax looked down and the group could see the emoticons on the robot's belly.

" _On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?_ "

" _Physical or emotional?_ " Hiro looked away from the robot to glare at video Tadashi, who was standing behind his creation. Tadashi laughed at that. Good old Hiro, always the Prince of Sarcasm.

Gogo nodded in approval, smirking and popping her gum. "I love this kid. He's my kind of guy."

" _I will scan you now…"_ The camera adjusted itself, focusing more on Hiro's lithe body to search for injuries as the patient squinted his eyes. The results appeared on the bottom left of the screen and on the robot's chest. " _Scan complete. You have a slight epidermal abrasion on your forearm. I suggest an anti-bacterial spray_."

As Baymax approached Hiro and gently gripped the boy's hand, the genius pulled away and let out a coy smile. " _Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's in the spray, specifically?_ "

" _The primary ingredient is bacitracin_."

Hiro clicked his tongue and went 'aw, darn' with his arms, the smile widening. " _That's a bummer. I'm actually allergic to that_."

' _Get over yourself, knucklehead_.' Tadashi thought to himself, rolling his eyes with a smile at Hiro's playfulness.

Baymax tilted the camera. " _You are not allergic to bacitracin. You do have a mild allergy to peanuts_."

Hiro hummed his approval and held his arm out for Baymax to treat. " _Hm, not bad_." The boy genius looked over to other Tadashi again. " _You've done some serious coding on this thing, huh?_ "

" _Programed him with over 10,000 medical procedures. This chip is what makes Baymax, Baymax_." Hiro tilted in curiosity at the green chip with a smile on his face. With bright eyes, Hiro circled the robot as Baymax tried to follow his movements, completely focused on the boy. Hiro turned to Tadashi, who had his arms crossed confidently.

" _Vinyl?_ " the younger brother asked as he continued his circle around the robot.

"Yeah, going for a non-threatening, huggable kind of thing."

" _Looks like a walking marshmallow._ _No offense_."

" _I am a robot. I cannot be offended_." Hiro turned to the robot, getting closer to him to grab the head and looking into the black orbs, poking at them.

" _Hyperspectral cameras?_ "

" _Yep_."

" _Huh_." Hiro backed off and looked down at Baymax's air filled stomach. The boy's eyes narrowed and he planted his face into the sea of white.

" _Titanium skeleton?_ " Hiro said, muffled by the plastic he was talking through.

" _Carbon fiber_."

" _Right. Even lighter…Killer actuators! Where did you get those?!_ "

" _Machined them right here, in-house_." Video Tadashi appeared in the camera view, looking confident with a proud smile and hands in his pockets. There was no sign of depression in this version of him. Tadashi couldn't help missing that feeling, looking down from the screen.

Tadashi caught sight of Hiro quickly removed his face from Baymax's stomach, looking excited. The college student couldn't help but feel drawn to this eager Hiro and his eyes went back to trail his brother's movements. " _Really?!_ "

" _Yup. He can lift 1,000 pounds_." Hiro turned to Baymax, giving the camera a full view of his face of awe.

" _Shut up_." The screen moved as Baymax leaned closer, a candy appearing in his hand.

" _You have been a good boy. Have a lollipop_."

" _Nice_." Hiro took the piece of candy, removing the wrapper and sticking the sweet into his mouth.

" _I cannot deactivate until you say you are satisfied with your care_."

" _Well then, I'm satisfied with my care_."

And with that, Baymax turned and headed towards his charger.

" _He'd going to help a lot of people_." Tadashi heard himself say.

" _Hey, what kind of battery does he use?_ "

" _Li_ -"

The group blinked as the screen went black. Fred tiled his head in disappointment.

"Aw, over already?" he whined.

Suddenly, static appeared and images slowly started to form. There was sound from who seemed to be Tadashi, but it was unclear, words broken and incomprehensible. The group stared, trying to see if the footage would get a hold of itself. It worried Tadashi. ' _Is the footage damaged? Why?_ ' After a short while, the screen became clear at the call of one word.

" _Ow!_ " It was Hiro.

Tadashi tilted his head in confusion. ' _Strange, when did Hiro meet Baymax twice?_ '

Hiro turned to see Baymax emerge, sitting on the edge of his bed. Tadashi's eyes narrowed. His brother's eyes seemed…different. They looked sad, tired. There was barely any energy when he looked at the robot, even with the confusion in those brown orbs.

Baymax was started moving around his creator's bed and that was when Tadashi realized that this was taking place in his room. The white robot took a slow, awkward moment to move around the bed, making the group watch with anticipation. Hiro gave the marshmallow robot a raised brow, waiting ever so patiently. When the robot finally got around, the groups could hear books hitting the floor as Baymax escaped from the cramped space. The healthcare robot went up to Hiro.

" _Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion_."

" _Uh, hey, Baymax. I didn't know you were still…active_."

" _I heard a sound of distress. What seems to be the trouble?_ "

" _I just stubbed my toe a little. I'm fine_."

" _On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?_ "

" _A zero? I'm okay, really. Thanks. You can shrink now_." Hiro answered rather emotionlessly, getting off his bed.

" _Does it hurt when I touch it?_ " Baymax asked, reaching down for Hiro's toes.

" _That's okay._ " The young genius tried to push him away, but the robot persisted, making the boy back away. " _No touching. I'm fine-! Ow_." Tadashi made a small confused gasp as Hiro tripped over a tool box, falling into a gap between the bed and desk. He knew the boy was small, but that was a rather impressive feat. Hiro groaned as he got one of his hands unstuck, only to trap himself further. He lowered his eyes in irritation. Baymax moved closer.

" _You have fallen_."

" _You think?_ " Hiro replied sarcastically, a slightly strained, mocking smile on his face.

"Pfft." There was the Hiro Tadashi knew.

Hiro started reaching for a shelf, trying to get himself out. Apparently, he had grabbed it a little too harshly because the piece of wood broke off the wall, making the stream of robots slide and fall onto the young man one by one.

" _On a scale of 1 to_ -"

" _Ow!_ "

" _On a scale_ -"

" _Ah!_ "

" _On a sca_ -" Fred started laughing, the others trying to hold it in behind a struggling smile.

"Silly knucklehead." Tadashi murmured with a slight laugh, amused by the situation.

" _Argh!_ "

" _On a scale of 1 to 10_ -"

" _Urgh!_ "

" _On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?_ " Baymax asked, finally finishing the sentence.

Hiro grunted. " _Zero_."

" _It is all right to cry_." Baymax leaned down, getting ready to pick Hiro up. Naturally, the young man resisted.

" _No. No, no, no, no_."

" _Crying is a natural response to pain_." The robot brought Hiro out into the open, holding him bridal style. Hiro struggled out of Baymax's hold.

" _I'm not crying_." he protested.

" _I will scan you for injuries_."

" _Don't scan me_." Hiro ordered sternly.

" _Scan complete_."

" _Unbelievable_." Hiro said, giving the robot a skeptic look.

" _You have sustained no injuries. However, your hormone and neurotransmitter levels indicate that you are experiencing mood swings, common in adolescence. Diagnosis: puberty_." Hiro widened his eyes, as did everyone else in the group.

" _Whoa, what?!_ "

"When did that happen?!" Tadashi cried out, straightening himself from behind the chair. A strange overprotective side in the elder brother came out for the young Hiro on the screen. "He's not ready! He's too adorable!"

Wasabi gave his friend a weird look. "That's not how it works…"

"And it's not exactly anyone's choice…" Honey Lemon pointed out, trying to calm the irrationality, fiddling with her hands.

" _Okay. Time to shrink now_." Hiro said nervously, feeling the awkwardness take over his body. He started to back away, moving to Tadashi's side of the room. Baymax looked down, showing the image of a man with different spots being highlighted.

" _You should expect an increase in body hair, especially on your face, chest, armpits, and_ -"

"Baymax!" Tadashi yelled, leaning over the chair and making his friends move back from him.

" _Thank you! That's enough!_ " Hiro cried, a nervous smile on his face, and quickly put the charger on the floor. He grabbed Baymax's arm and tried to squish him into the machine.

" _You may also experience strange and powerful new urges_."

"Baymax, no!" Tadashi was just about over the seat and Fred had to get out in order to avoid getting squashed.

" _Okay! Let's get you back in your luggage_."

" _I cannot deactivate until you say you are satisfied with your care_." Baymax said as Hiro tried to press the robot inside with his weight.

" _Fine. I'm satisfied with my-! Whoa!_ " Hiro had pushed in a spot that made him lose his balance, making him fall over and pushing the robot out of the charger. Baymax started to get up. When he did, he turned back to Hiro, who was staring at something in the palm of his hand in confusion as he too stood up. " _My microbot?_ " the group's eyes widened. As Baymax got closer, everyone saw the tiny black robot come into view. It was the microbot that Krei was about to take. " _This doesn't make any sense_."

" _Puberty can often be a confusing time for a young adolescent flowering into manhood_." The group face palmed, groaning.

" _No. The thing is attracted to the other microbots, but that's impossible. They were destroyed in the fire._ " Hiro explained, putting the little robot into a petri dish, trapping it. The boy shrugged. " _Dumb thing's broken_."

As Hiro moved away, Baymax got closer and picked up the dish. Looking down at it, the marshmallow robot started to move around, watching as the microbot adjusted itself and kept moving in its desired direction. Everyone came to the same conclusion as Baymax did. He turned back to Hiro, who was trying to fix his battle bot.

" _Your tiny robot is trying to go somewhere_."

" _Oh, yeah? Why don't you find out where it's trying to go?_ " Hiro said absentmindedly, not really paying attention.

" _Would that stabilize your pubescent mood swings?_ " The group groaned.

" _Uh-huh, absolutely_ …"

And with that, Baymax moved away from Hiro. He made an unnoticed journey to the streets of San Fransokyo. Wasabi shrieked as the robot started disturbing traffic, making cars screech to a halt and nearly getting hit, but still completely focused on the little bot. Even when he did go down the sidewalk, once he reached a pedestrian crosswalk, cars once again stopped for the unaware robot. Wasabi seemed to lose one year of his life every time it happened, gripping the chair harder and harder with each move of social anarchy.

"Tadashi, promise me you will teach Baymax about road safety." the bandana wearer begged. Tadashi could only nod dumbly. He probably should. Otherwise, Baymax will be causing problems more than fixing them.

At some point, Baymax got on a street car, still looking down at the microbot. The group distinctly heard Hiro's call. Hiro was following Baymax. ' _Thanks goodness. Hiro will stop him_.' However, the boy's grunts eventually faded, probably because the street car was taking the robot further away. Eventually, it stopped and Tadashi started to feel a sense on recognition. As Baymax got off, Tadashi remembered that this was the shopping area he had seen before- Oh.

"He's heading to the warehouse!" Tadashi exclaimed. The group gasped turning to him.

"T-That one where you first met Bla- I mean, older Hiro?!" Fred exclaimed in return, pointing to the unconscious boy on his bed. Tadashi nodded gravely, worry appearing on his face.

" _Baymax! Baymax!_ " Everyone turned back to the screen upon hearing Hiro's voice. Dread filled Tadashi. What was going to happen to Hiro? Baymax turned to the young genius, who was panting heavily from running. " _Are you crazy? What are you doing?_ "

" _I have found where your tiny robot wants to go_."

" _I told you, it's broken! It's not trying to go-!_ " Hiro paused as he looked at the petri dish. " _Huh?_ " He started moving the bot around, making the connection as the small bot screamed loudly. Hiro looked at Baymax for a second before looking at the large doors, picking up the lock. " _Locked_." Baymax looked up, seeing a window and a large bin.

" _There is a window_." Hiro started walking towards the bin and the two started making their way up. Now closer to the opening, Hiro made Baymax stand against the wall and started climbing him.

Tadashi groaned, nervous for Baymax and Hiro. "No, don't go in there…"

" _Please exercise caution. A fall from this height could lead to bodily harm_." Hiro didn't reply, but from the lack of weird camera movement, it would seem the younger brother had gotten inside. Baymax moved to look up at the window and he too tried to get up, only to get stuck with a large protest from his rubber body, making Hiro turn to him. " _Oh no_." Hiro frantically shushed him. " _Excuse me while I let out some air_."

A very audible sound of air escaping had Hiro and the group frozen in place, completely flabbergasted by Baymax's inability to sense tension or be quiet. After a moment, Baymax seemed to stop.

" _Are you done?_ " Hiro asked, stressed. Baymax clearly wasn't because he chose that moment to let out the rest of his air.

" _Yes_." Hiro pulled him out, laying him on the metal balcony and looking around for danger. " _It will take me a moment to re-inflate_."

" _Fine, just keep it down_." With that, Hiro left, pulling out the petri dish as he disappeared down the steps.

At those words, Baymax started to fill himself with air again. It was softer than earlier, but the group could still hear it. Tadashi could honestly say this might be a design flaw.

"My robot is going to get Hiro killed…"

"There is a slight possibility." Gogo agreed. Everyone else nodded, they mouths slightly opened.

After a while, Baymax had enough air and started to get up. Following Hiro's lead, he went down the stairs. The warehouse looked much more abandoned on the inside than the outside. Windows were broken and everything was incredibly dusty. The only light available was from the broken roof as it let sunlight in. As Baymax turned a corner, the group saw one area with electric light, covered by an unclear glass wall and surrounded by left behind objects and one big machine. Once Baymax got closer, Hiro came into view, the group's eyes widened at what they saw. There were dozens of containers and Hiro's hands were holding more microbots.

"Whoa…" Fred muttered.

"Callaghan was making microbots there…?!" Tadashi said in surprise.

Hiro then seemed to notice something and was about to head towards it.

" _Hiro?_ " The boy jumped with a shriek.

" _You gave me a heart attack!_ " In response, Baymax put his hands together and they glowed blue.

" _My hands are equipped with defibrillators. Clear_." Hiro help his arms out in fear.

" _Stop, stop, stop! It's just an expression_." Suddenly, the distinct sound of glass being hit was heard and Baymax lowered his hands as Hiro took out the dish. After looking at it for a moment, Hiro's eyes widened in realization. Baymax could see the new microbots begin to rise from their containers.

" _Oh no_."

"Hiro!" everyone yelled.

Hiro turned to look before running with a shriek. " _Run!_ " He turned back to find that Baymax was barely moving. He threw his hands in exasperation before running to the robot. " _Oh, come on!_ "

" _I am not fast_."

" _Yeah, no kidding! Go! Go! Come on_." Hiro started to drag Baymax away, only to stop at the locked door. Tension and fear rose in the group. Hiro tried to kick the door down, but nothing happened. He turned to Baymax for help. " _Kick it down!_ " Baymax did, but it was weak and nothing happened. " _Then punch it!_ " Hiro cried in desperation, showing the robot how. Still, nothing happened. Hiro groaned loudly, only to turn and see that the microbots were gaining on them. " _Go! Go!_ " Hiro pushed Baymax away, just in time to avoid getting hit. He pushed Baymax to move faster, but the robot tripped on a pipe. " _Oh, come on! Go, go, go!_ " Hiro exclaimed, picking the robot up and dragging him away. Baymax then hit his head on another pipe before being pushed down a narrow path. Once out, Hiro tried to stop the bots with a door, only to be pushed back. Hiro screamed as they landed a few feet away, Baymax trapped in a hole and moving his feet uselessly. " _Move it!_ " Hiro pushed the robot down and the two started to crawl in the air ways. Hiro shrieked as the way started getting blocked and he had to lead them in a different direction. " _Come on!_ " Finding this was going nowhere, Hiro pulled Baymax out of the vents and they tried running again. One of the vent plates burst with microbots, throwing the two onto the balcony, Baymax laying on the fourteen year old. Hiro lifted Baymax's arm and saw a man. Dread filled the spectators. It was Callaghan. " _Come on! The window!_ " Hiro pushed Baymax away as Callaghan got ready to attack. But Baymax got stuck in the window again. " _Suck it in!_ " The group heard Hiro cry out before they suddenly flipped places. Hiro cried out, in fear. " _Baymax!_ " It was the kind of yell that someone would use if they were about to fall off a cliff.

"Hiro!" Tadashi shouted, grabbing the computer.

" _Hiro?_ " Baymax sounded confused and…more concerned about Hiro's wellbeing, something that the group immediately picked up. It was strange. Baymax was programed to care about everyone equally, but with Hiro, the robot seemed…to take it more personally.

As the attack approached, Baymax held his arms out to shield himself. Taking the hit, Baymax was pushed out. The healthcare robot immediately grabbed Hiro and held him close as they hit the ground, protecting the human. Hiro flew out of Baymax's grasp as he landed on his back.

" _Come on, let's get out of here_." Hiro immediately got up and placed Baymax on his feet. " _Go! Hurry!_ "

Static filled the screen again. Tadashi sat back down in the chair. He groaned. "I don't know if I can do this. Hiro is going to give me a heart attack."

Baymax's head perked up at that, pausing in his treatment for older Hiro. "My hands are-"

"NO!" everybody screamed. Baymax blinked at the reaction and returned to taking care of Hiro's injuries as everyone let out a tired sigh.

"Just how am I not noticing that Hiro is getting into such trouble? Where the hell am I?!" Tadashi shouted.

"Don't be upset, Tadashi." Gogo said. "This is clearly a different timeline than ours, a parallel dimension where Hiro is alive. And Hiro seemed tired. College was probably a little too much and he decided to take a little break. We're likely just sitting in class."

"That's not very comforting."

"Cut me some slack, here."

Suddenly, the static started to fade. Before them was a very bored looking policeman at a keyboard. Hiro was leaning on the desk with his petri dish held out to the law enforcer. Baymax was watching behind them. The adult twirled in his chair to address Hiro.

" _All right, let me get this straight. A man in a kabuki mask attacked you with an army of miniature flying robots?_ " the policeman questioned in a bored manner.

" _Microbots!_ " Hiro corrected, holding the example out. The old policemen turned back to the computer.

"… _Microbots_." He typed, his voice clearly indicating his disbelief.

A memory flashed in Tadashi's mind. He glanced at the Hiro that Baymax was treating. ' _Well, that explains why he said that_ …' At the sound of younger Hiro's voice, he turned back to the screen.

" _Yeah! He was controlling them telepathically with a neurocranial transmitter!_ "

" _So, Mr. Kabuki was using esp to attack you and balloon man?_ " the adult clarified, watching as Baymax grabbed a piece of tape. The robot inflated his arm until it started making a loud air sound. Three holes appeared and Baymax placed the piece of tape on one of them. He took another piece of tape and put it on the second hole, the sound changing to the lack of escapes. The two humans stared at him, one in incomprehension and the other in boredom. With the last one closed, Baymax then inflated his other arm and grabbed another piece of tape. The policeman moved the roll closer and turned back to Hiro, choosing to ignore the robot. " _Did you file a report when your flying robots were stolen?_ "

" _No! I thought they were all destroyed!_ " Hiro exclaimed, hands moving in exasperation. " _Look, I know it sounds crazy, but Baymax was there, too. Tell him!_ "

" _Yes, officer._ "

Wasabi raised a brow in question. "I wonder why Baymax doesn't just show him the footage. It's pretty evident."

" _He's telling the truuuuuuuth_." Suddenly, Baymax was sagging and Tadashi groaned as the low battery sign appeared on the middle right.

"That's why."

" _What the...? What's wrong with you?_ " Hiro asked, looking nervous, skeptic and worried at the same time.

" _Low battery_."

" _Whoa, whoa! Try to keep it together_." Hiro said, but Baymax's wasn't able to completely process it, making it sound deep and slurred.

" _I'm healthcare, your personal Baymax companion_." Fred let out a laugh.

"Hahaha! He sounds drunk!"

As Hiro caught the falling Baymax, the police officer spoke. " _Kid, how about we call your parents and get them down here?_ "

" _What?_ " Hiro exclaimed, his robot buddy clumsily grabbing the tape again.

" _Write your name and number down on this piece of pa_ -"

Hiro didn't stay. Instead, he grabbed Baymax and brought them outside, trying to get the robot under control.

" _I've gotta get you home to your charging station_." Hiro tried to get Baymax to stand, but the robot was too out of it, sticking to leaning over the young boy. " _Can you walk?_ "

Baymax started moving around weirdly. " _I will scan you now. Scan complete_." He fell to the ground. " _Healthcare_."

After that, the screen went to static again, leaving the group with raised brows and a still laughing Fred.

"Hahahaha! I love drunk Baymax!" Gogo groaned, slapping the brunet out of his pleased state.

"Control yourself, idiot."

Honey Lemon was smiling sheepishly. "It was pretty silly. Though I think you should look into making sure future Baymax models don't do that."

"…Yeah."

The screen returned to a clear picture. Hiro was leading Baymax into the house, turning the knob quietly and making sure Aunt Cass wasn't around. Stepping inside, he let Baymax in, who groggily moved around. Hiro grabbed Baymax and looked the robot in the eye.

" _Okay. If my aunt asks, we were at school all day. Got it?_ " Hiro whispered.

" _We jumped out a window!_ " Baymax expressed his confusion way too loudly.

" _No! Quiet!_ "

" _We jumped out a windoooow_." This time, Baymax's words were whispered as well, but not at the volume Hiro was hoping for. Hiro's expression was very distressed.

' _We're feeling for you, Buddy_.' Tadashi thought.

" _You can't say things like that around Aunt Cass_." Hiro stated in hushed tones, shushing the healthcare robot as he walked up the stairs. Baymax imitated him and tried to take a step forward, only to stick his face into the stair rather than his foot. Baymax immediately got up and repeated the shush gestor, crashing into the wall.

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from upstairs. " _Hiro? You home, sweetie?_ "

" _Uh. That's right!_ " Hiro replied, looking nervously at Baymax. Fred was already on the verge of laughing again.

"Oh boy…" was Tadashi's reaction, letting out a worried sigh as Hiro went up to the top of the steps. Baymax was following after him, albeit much slower.

" _I thought I heard you. Hi_."

" _Hey, Aunt Cass_."

" _Look at my little college man. I can't wait to hear all about it! And wings are almost ready_."

Suddenly, Baymax popped to the top, freaking Hiro out. " _Whee!_ "

"Ah!" The group gasped. Tension really meant nothing to this robot!

" _Will you be quiet?!_ " Hiro said, pushing Baymax out of Aunt Cass's view. Fred started to laugh again.

" _Yeah, wings! Whee! Ohhh!_ " As Aunt Cass started talking some more, Hiro was struggling to get Baymax up to his room. He eventually did, but then he went straight back down. " _All right, get ready to have your face melted. We are gonna feel these things tomorrow. You know what I'm saying? Okay. Sit down. Tell me everything_." They heard a nervous laugh and then an awkward pause. As that was going on, Baymax started wobbling a bit.

" _Um, the thing is that, since I registered so late, I've got a lot of school stuff to catch up on_." At the end of the sentence, Baymax crashed to the floor, making a large thud and making practically everyone flinch.

" _What was that?_ "

"... _Mochi_." Hiro answered after another pause. " _That darn cat_." There was a small meow that made Baymax sit up and look down at Hiro. Suddenly, there was a more panicked meow and a flying ball of fluff heading straight for Baymax. Mochi collided into the robot, making him fall back down. Baymax went back up and took the cat off his face, bringing the calico into a comfortable hold. Mochi was very content.

" _At least take a plate for the road, okay? Don't work too_ -"

" _Thanks for understanding_."

" _Hairy baby. Hairy baby_." Baymax mumbled, looking down at the cat. At the sound of footsteps approaching, Mochi got mad and ran away, clearly upset with Hiro.

" _All right, come on_." Hiro proceeded to bring Baymax to his charger, wrapping one of the robot's arms over his shoulder.

" _I'm healthcare, your personal Baymax companion_." Baymax stopped talking at the sight of the charger, trying to put a foot in.

" _One foot in front of the other_." Hiro encouraged as the robot kept missing. Once the robot was settled in, Baymax started to inflate and Hiro crashed onto the bed. After a long sigh, Hiro brought the microbot to his face.

" _This doesn't make any sense_." Baymax blinked and then turned to Tadashi's side of the room. It was dark, which confused Tadashi.

"Wait, shouldn't I be home by now?" he asked no one in particular.

"Uh, Tadashi…" Honey Lemon pointed to the center of the screen. Tadashi squinted his eyes before widening them, standing out of seat and backing up slightly.

" _Tadashi_." Baymax said.

On the neat bed was a single baseball cap. Tadashi felt like he was going to hyperventilate. ' _Oh Hiro_.'

"Oh my goodness…" Gogo mumbled in shock, eyes darting between the screen and Tadashi.

" _What?_ "

" _Tadashi_." Everyone flinched. Hiro's aura changed from tired to mournful, and at that point, it was certain.

" _Tadashi's gone_." Tadashi's legs gave out and he fell back into the seat. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. How could he be dead?! How was he supposed to watch Hiro get his degree, his first job, his first anything?! More importantly, who was going to protect Hiro?! Tadashi clenched his hands into a fist.

"It's like this timeline is the opposite to ours..." Gogo muttered, which infuriated Tadashi. So what? Hiro and him simply aren't allowed to live their lives together in the same timeline. 'That's just twisted.' Tadashi growled in his head.

" _When will he return?_ "

" _He's dead, Baymax_." The words stabbed everyone. The idea of Tadashi not being there was just unfathomable. Honey Lemon started to cry as everyone else looked down sadly.

As Hiro started closing Tadashi's room off, getting one last look at the cap, Baymax blinked. Hiro's body struggled to hold himself together, refusing to cry as he let go of the slide door and walked to his desk. " _Tadashi was in excellent health. With a proper diet and exercise, he should have lived a long life_."

' _Yet I didn't! Why am I not there for him?!_ ' Tadashi thought bitterly.

" _Yeah, he should have. But there was a fire and...Now, he's gone_." Hiro's voice was full of melancholy and it upset Tadashi even more.

' _That damn fire again!_ ' Tadashi growled as tears starting to fall, feeling grief for this Hiro and the Hiro who died. ' _Does it really have to be me or him who dies?! Why does anyone have to die at all?!_ '

" _Tadashi is here_."

" _No. People keep saying he's not really gone. As long as we remember him._ " Hiro feel to his seat, touching his lamp for some form of comfort. " _It still hurts_." It was there that Fred noticed how similar the scene was to what happened earlier with Tadashi. He tilted his head with a stern look, thinking, until finally coming to a conclusion. Looking up at everyone's sad faces, especially Tadashi's mix of sadness and anger, the brunet spoke up.

"I think it will be okay, guys."

"What?! How can you think that?!" Tadashi said in confused and tired enragement. But whatever rage he was about to shout was cut off at Fred's serious and confident look, smirking.

" _I see no evidence of physical injury_." The familiarity of the words was starting to hit Tadashi.

" _It's a different kind of hurt_." Hiro turned away as Baymax stepped out of the charger and moved closer.

" _You are my patient. I would like to help_."

" _You can't fix this one, Buddy_." Baymax ignored the words and instead placed a hand on the computer next to him. Multiple images started to flash by and release a fast computer sound. Tadashi's heart skipped. Of course.

" _Uhh, what are you doing?_ "

" _I am downloading a database on personal loss_." Baymax clarified before removing his hand. New calculations were being made and new images in the form of a network appeared on the screen. "Database downloaded. Treatments include contact with friends and loved ones. I am contacting them now."

" _No, no, no! I...don't do that!_ " Hiro ordered, getting up to stop him, hoping there was a cancel button he could press. The images of Gogo, Honey Lemon, Wasabi and Fred vanished before he could do anything.

" _Your friends have been contacted_."

" _Unbelievable_." Hiro didn't have much time to wallow in self-pity because Baymax then embraced the sad fourteen year old. " _Now, what are you doing?_ "

" _Other treatments include compassion and physical reassurance_."

Hiro sighed as Baymax tilted his head in the mop of untameable locks. " _I'm okay. Really_."

" _You will be all right. There, there_."

"Awwww~" Honey Lemon smiled, sniffing and removing a tear. "Baymax, you're so sweet!"

"See? He'll be all right."

" _Thanks, Baymax_." Tadashi's heart started to warm as Hiro removed himself from the hug, revealing a happier expression to the camera.

" _I am sorry about the fire_."

" _It's okay. It was an accident_." At that, the group went cold, including Tadashi. If their experience was anything to go by, this would not end well. Hiro's eyes widened as he made connections between events like Tadashi did, turning his eyes to the single microbot. He went up to it and took it into his hands, walking as he made his deductions. " _Unless...Unless it wasn't. At the showcase, that guy in the mask stole my microbots. And...And then set the fire to cover his tracks. He's responsible for Tadashi_." Hiro slammed his fists on the desk, making the group flinch. " _We gotta catch that guy!_ "

The footage quickly changed, not giving groups time to dwell. After the static went away, the setting changed to the garage. Hiro was using a scanner to take in Baymax's body shape.

"If we're gonna catch that guy, you need some upgrades." Hiro then swiftly went to his chair.

" _Will apprehending the man in the mask improve your emotional state?_ "

" _Absolutely_."

' _I really don't think it will_.' Tadashi thought, guiltily turning to the Hiro on the bed. ' _It will just get worse_ …'

" _Let's work on your moves_." The genius typed in something really quickly before changing computers and started typing again, bringing up the footage of a karate movie and started a program to download the moves the master made, putting the image of Baymax and the master together.

"Wait! It was that easy this whole time?!" Tadashi exclaimed, making the others laugh nervously.

" _Now, let's take care of this_." Hiro said and poked him before zooming away on his chair. After trailing Hiro with his camera, Baymax looked back at his stomach and poked it himself. He then turned and made his way back to the first computer, where he was working enthusiastically. Once he got there though, Hiro had grabbed a pop when he was done and moved away, making the robot go after him again. The pattern continued as Hiro pressed something really quickly and went to the 3-D printer, pulling out a green plate. Again and again, Hiro moved between computers and the 3-D printer. It amazed the group how efficiently he was working. Was it really that easy or was he just used to it? Finally, every piece was in place. Hiro sat down to take it in. Baymax took it in as well. It was exactly the same as what they had made. The group was rather impressed that they made the same thing a genius made. However, Baymax was thinking of other things.

" _I have some concerns. This armor may undermine my non-threatening, huggable design_." Baymax stated, looking at his arms before turning to Hiro.

" _That's kind of the idea, Buddy_." Hiro said, leaning back in his chair with a smirk. " _You look sick_."

" _I cannot be sick. I am a robot_."

" _It's just an expression_." the genius said, already used to this.

" _Data transfer complete_." At the call, Hiro moved back to the second computer. Baymax followed right behind him and watched as the boy pulled out a red chip and drew a skull face on it. He then went to Baymax's access port and opened it. The group watched as Hiro momentarily hesitated, eyes glued on the healthcare chip. That excitement diminished as he continued to stare at it. Despair flashed in Tadashi and Hiro's eyes.

"Hiro…" Tadashi muttered, feeling the pain he had caused Hiro, gripping his chest.

Hiro put the chip in and closed the port, moving out of view. Baymax analyzed the chip, learning the moves. He was still confused, however. He turned to Hiro as the boy returned. " _I fail to see how karate makes me a better healthcare companion_."

" _You want to keep me healthy, don't you? Punch this_." Hiro said with a coy smile, pulling out a piece of wood. Baymax got into position and did as Hiro told him, breaking the wood in half. " _Yes!_ " Hiro then started bringing multiple targets for the healthcare robot and shouted many different karate moves.

" _Hammerfist!_ "

" _Side kick!_ "

" _Knifehand!_ "

" _Back kick!_ "

" _Gummy bears!_ " The group sweat dropped.

"What?" Fred looked so confused, like those words did not compute with the scene, brain practically broken.

" _Yes!_ "

After a while of testing out moves and Hiro watching from a safe distance, the two finally bowed to each other, signalling the end of their training montage. Hiro jumped excitedly and went closer to Baymax with a fist ready. Tadashi blinked as he put his hand in position out of instinct, sneakily putting it back down when he noticed his mistake.

" _Yeah! Fist bump!_ " Baymax stared at the hand.

"' _Fist bump' is not in my fighting database_."

" _No, this isn't a fighting thing. It's what people do sometimes when they're excited or pumped up._ " Hiro explained, taking Baymax's hand and walking the robot through the actions. At the end, Hiro made a sound, which Baymax mimicked with 'balalalala.' Hiro smiled " _Hey, now you're getting it_."

" _I will add 'fist bump' to my care-giving matrix_."

" _All right. Let's go get that guy_."

The static appeared again and this time the camera was moving erratically. Baymax was gracelessly running behind Hiro, who was following the guidance of the microbot in the petri dish. The robot eventually caught up, but Hiro was so focused on the bot, that he had no idea he was heading to the end of the dock. Luckily, Baymax had grabbed Hiro just in time.

" _Always wait one hour after eating before swimming_."

Not a second later, the microbot started to move more frantically, making Hiro turn to it in surprise. The movements were so erratic that it eventually broke free from the glass and flew away before Hiro could catch it, disappearing into the dark mist. " _Hey!_ " They looked at where the microbot disappeared and started to hear movement in the water. The black figure of Callaghan emerged from the fog, making the two retreat. " _Come on!_ "

They quickly hid behind a bin, the same one Tadashi had used. They poked their heads out, watching as Callaghan arrived on shore. The group's heartbeats rushed, wondering what was going to happen this time around. Hiro pushed Baymax back. " _Your heart rate has increased dramatic_ -"

" _Shh_. _Okay, Baymax, time to use those upgrades_." Hiro whispered. Baymax got into position, but before anything could happen, light enveloped them, making Hiro gasp. Wasabi squeaked.

"Uh-oh."

Sure enough, Honey Lemon, Gogo, Wasabi and Fred appeared on screen, emerging from the car like there was no danger.

" _Hiro?_ " they questioned.

" _No, no, no! Get out of here! Go!_ " Hiro warned them, but they paid him no heed.

"Please, listen to him." Wasabi begged. Video Wasabi, however, had a different mindset.

" _Dude, what are you doing out here?_ "

" _Nothing! Just out for a walk. Helps my pubescent mood swings_." the younger man replied nervously, although his anxiety sagged at that last sentence. Gogo moved passed him to get a better look at Baymax, who had also caught the attention of the rest of the group.

" _Is that Baymax?_ "

" _Yeah, but you really_ -"

" _Why is he wearing carbon fiber underpants?_ " Video Gogo asked, pointing at the robot.

" _I also know karate_."

" _You guys need to go!_ "

" _No, don't push us away, Hiro_." Video Honey Lemon said comfortingly. " _We're here for you_. _That's why Baymax contacted us_."

"Why isn't anybody listening to him?!"

" _Those who suffer a loss require support from friends and loved ones_." Baymax explained, making everyone turn to him, Hiro more frantic than the others. He was clearly trying to come up with a way for them to go away.

" _Okay, but I_ -" Hiro was being completely ignored.

" _Who would like to share their feelings first?_ "

" _Oh! I'll go_." Fred jumped, moving to be between Gogo and Wasabi. He took a breath before speaking. " _Okay. My name is Fred, and it has been 30 days since my last_ -" Fred had turned to Gogo when his eye caught sight of something above him. There was no doubt in any of the spectators' minds who it was. " _Holy mother of Megazon!_ "

Static started to fill the screen again, blocking the sight that they knew would have been Callaghan.

"Oh thank god! I don't think I could have handled living through that again." Wasabi said in relief. Gogo tilted her head in confusion.

"What's with all this static? Why does it keep showing up?"

"I think it's broken…" That comment from Honey Lemon gave the group more questions. Was Baymax's memories damaged? Why were Baymax's memories in such a state? What happened in the future to cause this? Did Baymax even exist? These questions would probably only be answered by the person lying unconscious on the bed. The group looked at the injured hero. They really hoped he would be okay.

The video's static was done and it reopened with Hiro holding the scanner again, but this time, something was different. Everyone was there with him, holding their arms out as the young man moved the scanner down. Once finished, Hiro brought them to his computer and showed them the mask.

" _The neurotransmitter must be in his mask. We get the mask, and he can't control the bots. Game over_." Hiro turned to them with a cunning smile. The group nodded in acknowledgement, Fred looking particularly excited.

The static cut the scene again, making the group worry a little. They hoped the footage wouldn't break down on them. A second later, the footage skipped to Hiro holding Baymax's red armour coated hand, excitedly dragging him somewhere through Fred's backyard. Baymax was clearly wearing new armour. It shined brightly in the light. Hiro was also wearing something different, a suit of his own, and it only made Tadashi nervous. The fourteen year old was wearing something similar to his future self, indigo and black armour with a small touch of red. However, the gloves didn't have Wasabi's plasma blades, Gogo's disks were nowhere in sight and Honey Lemon's pouch was gone. Tadashi groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. Hiro was so involved in this mess, all because of him. He wished he would tell Hiro to stay out of trouble.

"Unbelievable…"

" _Wahoo!_ " Fred exclaimed in the distance. Eventually the footage showed Honey Lemon, Gogo, Wasabi and Fred, each in their own individual suits. Everyone gasped. They looked amazing, suits designed just for them, and not just the weapon. They could already tell that the one in the blue monster costume was Fred, jumping around like the ball of energy he was.

" _I love it!_ " Video Honey Lemon said, holding her orange satchel, a heart with the periodic table on it. She was dressed in magenta and pink, black and pink high heel boots on her feet. Honey Lemon giggled, jumping a little upon seeing the suit and bag.

"Oh~! I want it! It's so cute!"

" _Not bad_."

"I'll say." Gogo said to her Video self. She looked great. With yellow armour and maglev dicks with slick black underneath, she looked like she was built for speed. Video Gogo took one of the disks, throwing it. The piece of metal returned like a boomerang, flying right back into her hand. "Ooooh~ I like that."

Video Wasabi was adjusting his blue pants, a red sash belt holding it in place. Wasabi's eyes trailed the green armour and the matching gauntlets. " _Anybody else's suit riding up on them?_ "

" _Hey, guys! Check this out_." Hiro said, getting the group's attention. Turning the corner, they noticed Baymax and their mouths dropped. " _I'd like to introduce, Baymax 2.0_."

Video Fred gasped. " _He's glorious_."

"I wanna see!" Fred whined next to Tadashi.

" _Hello_." Baymax greeted simply. A butterfly landed on Baymax's hand before flying away, making the healthcare robot chase after it. Hiro stepped in to stop him.

" _Whoa! Hold up. Focus. Show 'em what you got, Buddy_." Baymax stared at him uncomprehendingly. " _The fist, show them the fist_." Hiro tried to show the robot what he was talking about and when Baymax mimicked it, he backed away, only for the companion to get it wrong.

" _Balalalala_."

" _No, not that. The thing, the other thing_." This time, Baymax got it right. From the screen, the group could see multiple vents open from the red armour before releasing and destroying a statue and the wall behind it. Everyone gasped and both Freds clapped loudly.

" _Rocket Fist make Freddie so happy!_ "

" _That's just one of his new upgrades!_ " Hiro said as the fist returned to Baymax's arm. " _Baymax, wings_."

The distinct sound of something popping out was heard. Baymax started twirling around, trying to figure out what that sound was. The group noticed a red tip from the corner of Baymax's camera. Hiro moved around to get behind the robot and the sounds of four magnets were heard.

"You're kidding." Tadashi said, jaw dropped.

" _Thrusters_." Baymax looked down in surprise as he started floating, wobbling to get it under control.

He turned to Hiro, who had a big smile on his face. " _I fail to see how flying makes me a better healthcare companion_."

" _I fail to see how you fail to see that it's awesome! Full thrust_." Hiro exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the sky. Baymax tried to obey the order, but he just crashed into the ground before zooming across the yard, making Hiro cry out.

"Hiro!" Tadashi shouted worriedly.

"That's not good." everyone behind him remarked, watching as Baymax tried to get the flying under control. The two eventually ended up in the city, catching the attention of whoever they flew over.

" _Steady, big guy_." Hiro said, trying to calm down and earning Baymax's attention. " _Look, let's just take this slow_." Suddenly, Hiro's face expressed horror. Baymax turned back to see that they were about to hit a sushi mascot. " _Up, up, up, up, up! Thrust, thrust, thrust!_ " Just in time, Baymax avoided the crash, now heading straight for the sky like a rocket. " _Too much thrust! Too much thrust! Too much thrust!_ " Hiro cried. At those words, Baymax had apparently taken it as a request to turn the thrusters off, making them fall over the Golden Gate Bridge. The group watched the scene with worried incomprehension. " _No, no, no, no! Back on! Back on! On! On! On!_ "

And just like that, Byamax turned them back on, flying over various cars until a semi-truck came into view. " _Go up! Up, up, up! Up!_ " Sure enough, the avoided hitting the transport truck and went straight to the top of the bridge. Baymax banged his head at one point, but eventually landed safely.

" _Oh, man!_ " Hiro said in relief, panting. Baymax turned to him, scanning and seeing the smile on the boy's face. In the right corner, a graph appeared with a line moving up. " _Maybe...Maybe enough flying for today. What do you say?_ "

" _Your neurotransmitter levels are rising steadily_."

Hiro looked at Baymax nervously and suspiciously. " _Which means what?_ "

" _The treatment is working_." The camera started to tilt, the group arching their necks to match it until all they could see was the ocean.

"There he goes again." they said. Hiro reacted in fear.

" _Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no! Whoa, Baymax!_ " Just as they were about to hit the water, Baymax turned the thrusters on and they started heading back to the city. " _Yes!_ " Baymax started to go faster at Hiro's happy holler. It was amazing. They could see various angles of the city buildings, all without nervousness for the younger brother. Hiro let out another happy shout as the robot pushed it some more, making them fly higher and twirling playfully. Eventually, they started following a train before finally moving in front to it and zooming away. Baymax started flying around a building. At the top, Baymax trailed a hand as flew with the cord of the blimp. Looping around, Baymax gave Hiro, and the group, a full view of San Fransokyo in the sunset. Baymax and Hiro looked to each other in a silent agreement before flying around the blimps like an obstacle course.

" _Yes! Wahoo!_ " Hiro exclaimed with a laugh.

Tadashi smiled. That must have been amazing for Hiro. Just watching made him pumped up. But then a voice in the back of his mind made him wonder. Was Baymax purposefully putting effort into his flying to make Hiro happy? Tadashi couldn't help wanting to believe that. He wanted Hiro and Baymax to be close. He wanted his robot to take care of his younger brother.

"They're going to be such great friends…" he unwittingly said, making everyone smile.

Baymax found a good spot for them to land. Once they did, Hiro dropped and took a seat, incredibly happy. Baymax sat down as well. As the two started watching the sunset, Hiro started moving his feet back and forth playfully, encouraging Baymax to try as well when he noticed. They were quiet for a good long while, watching the yellow, pink and lavender in the sky.

" _Wow. That was...That was_..."

" _Sick._ " Baymax offered, turning to Hiro for a moment, making the boy look at him in surprise. " _It is just an expression_." The boy laughed a little, giving the robot a friendly tap.

" _That's...That's right, Buddy_." Hiro let out a sigh. " _I am never taking the bus again_."

After a moment, Baymax looked at Hiro again. " _Your emotional state has improved. I can deactivate if you say you are satisfied with your care_."

" _What?_ " Hiro looked at Baymax in shock, eyes wide before narrowing. " _No, I don't want you to deactivate_." Those words made the group's blood go cold. Hiro got up. " _We still have to find that guy. So, fire up that super-sensor_."

Super-sensor? Oh crap.

Baymax got up and looked around. Multiple green bodies appeared over the view of San Fransokyo as the robot scanned the city, moving slowly across the scene.

" _Functionality improved. 1000% increase in range_." That number bugged Tadashi for a second. Dwelling on it, however, was out of the question when Baymax got a result with a ding. " _I have found a match...on that island_."

The group flinched.

* * *

 **...I've watched this movie so many times to get this.**


	12. Chapter 12: Robots

**Chapter 12: Robots**

When the footage became static again, the group had hoped the video would skip the whole battle with Professor Callaghan and move to something way after the event. But that would imply fate was kind and it had a reputation of cold indifference to uphold. Once the static cleared, the group was greeted by Baymax seemingly blinking out of a trance, looking down at a wide eyed Honey Lemon with her hands over his access port. Tadashi did not like this scene. As the others came into view, their distressed faces made Tadashi turn away in guilt.

" _My healthcare protocol has been violated. I regret any distress I may have caused_." Tadashi cringed.

Suddenly, Hiro came into view, coming right up to Honey Lemon in rage. She backed away fearfully as Hiro yelled at her. " _How could you do that?! I had him!_ "

' _Oh, god_.' Tadashi thought, his stomach tightening. ' _He did it too. Hiro_ …' The idea that Hiro shared the same sin, that his brother, a fourteen year old boy, had the will to kill someone, brought dread to his heart and soul.

Gogo was glaring at him in fury as Honey Lemon backed away some more. Wasabi defended the honey blonde, trying to make Hiro back off. " _What you just did, we never signed up for_."

All the negativity, inside and out, was making Hiro pace in front of Baymax.

" _We said we'd catch the guy. That's it_." Gogo added warningly, but rather than getting through to the boy, her anger and tone of voice only made Hiro get defensive, snapping at her like a stray kitten.

" _I never should have let you help me!_ " Hiro yelled, looking at each of them accusingly before turning to Baymax." _Baymax, find Callaghan_."

At the order, the robot lifted his head. Green flashed on the screen, but nothing became of it, breaking up seconds after activation. Baymax turned the camera back to the youngest in the room. " _My enhanced scanner has been damaged_."

A bit of relief entered the group that was watching.

Hiro growled in frustration and moved behind Baymax, closing the glass on his helmet. " _Wings_."

Everyone's eyes widened at the action, but Video Gogo's glare remained.

" _Hiro, this isn't part of the plan_." Fred exclaimed, looking to Honey Lemon in silent worried communication.

" _Fly!_ " The loud sound of thrusters could be heard and Baymax turned to the sky.

" _Hiro!_ " the group cried as they were left behind. Gogo slammed her hand on the desk and growled.

"Oh, he did not just do that." She turned to the unconscious Hiro and was about to stomp over to him, a fist forming. Before she could do anything, Wasabi and Tadashi held her back, hooking her arms.

"Don't hurt my brother!" Gogo paused for a moment, telling Wasabi and Tadashi that it was okay to let go, albeit slightly. The young woman then whipped out of the hold and turned to Honey Lemon, pointing a sharp finger.

"Honey, remind me to spit gum into Hiro's hair when he wakes up."

"I'm not going to remind you of something like that! It's childish!" Honey Lemon countered.

"Revenge is often like that."

After the rest of the group sweat dropped at Gogo's antics, the sound of Video Baymax's thrusters stopped. Everyone turned to see the red metal clad robot landing in front of the garage. Tadashi watched the scene with a twisted heart as Hiro jumped off and opened the garage door, slamming his helmet on a table and pulling out a small ladder. The older brother wanted to scream and shout. While he felt guilty about what he did on Akuma Island, the idea that Hiro was bearing the same sin made him…He didn't know what this feeling was. All he knew was that he didn't like what Hiro was doing. That dark determination, that hatred, that despair, such horrible emotions didn't deserve to be on his younger brother's face. He was scared of what this meant for Hiro's future. He turned to the unconscious person on the bed, trying to remember all those times the little hero saved him, but it didn't offer as much comfort as he wanted. Did he even know this Hiro Hamada at all?

Video Hiro slammed the ladder onto the floor in front of Baymax, getting on it to remove the red helmet before knocking over some stuff and slamming it onto the table. He grabbed some cords and connected them to the helmet, angry energy in every movement.

" _Your blood pressure is elevated. You appear to be distressed_." Baymax observed as Hiro typed something into the computer.

" _I'm fine!_ " Hiro stated angrily, unplugging the helmet and putting it on Baymax. " _There. Is it working?_ " In response to the question, the robot looked around, testing the fixed sensor, before looking back at his patient's fuming face.

" _My sensor is operational_."

" _Good. Then let's get-_ " When Hiro pressed on the access port and nothing happened, his words stopped, trying to process what was going on as he frantically pressed harder and more frequently. " _...What?_ "

" _Are you going to remove my healthcare chip?_ "

" _Yes. Open!_ " Hiro ordered, glaring at the camera. The group watched anxiously, some with an intrigued brow. If that access port opened, there was not telling what Hiro would make Baymax do.

" _My purpose is to heal the sick and injured_."

" _Baymax, open your access port!_ "

" _Do you want me to terminate Professor Callaghan?_ "

" _Just open!_ " Hiro exclaimed, slamming his fist on the armour. He then proceeded to remove the chest armour, throwing it to the floor before going back to the access port.

" _Will terminating Professor Callaghan improve your emotional state?_ " That question seemed to break something in Hiro's anger.

" _Yes! No! I don't know! Open your access!_ " Tadashi watched solemnly. Hiro didn't know what he wanted, emotions and morality tearing his brother in two. Hiro tried to suppress the duality and turned his focus back to opening the access port like it was the key to releasing these horrible feelings, his hatred, his mourning.

" _Is this what Tadashi wanted?_ "

" _It doesn't matter!_ "

" _Tadashi programed me to aid and-_ " With the thoughts of Tadashi washing over him, Hiro broke down, slamming his fists onto the robot.

" _Tadashi's gone!_ " Hiro's fists broke, spreading onto the plastic and sliding down slightly, his anger turning into sadness. " _Tadashi's gone._ " he said after a silent moment, voice telling of his broken heart. Tadashi reached out and touched the screen, wanting to pat his brother's head and say 'it's going to be okay.' What had he done? He had left Hiro and broke him to pieces. Was there no end to this cycle of despair?

" _Tadashi is here_."

' _Stop saying that. I'm not there. I'm not there for him_.'

" _No. He's not here_." The words were spoken slowly, every millisecond drawn out and breaking Tadashi's heart. He had been so selfish, both in this world and this parallel one. It was his fault his friends were getting hurt. It was his fault Hiro went to the convention and died. It was his fault this Hiro was suffering. Tadashi brought a hand to his chest. His heart hurt. There was no forgiving what he has done. It was all despicable.

" _Tadashi is here_."

" _This is Tadashi Hamada. And this is the first test of my robotics project_." At that voice, the group's eyes widened and Hiro looked up with a gasp. Baymax's screen was lit up and Hiro could not take his eyes off of it.

" _Hello, I am Baymax_."

" _Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! The seventh test of my robotics project_."

" _Hello, I_ -"

" _What? What? Wait, wait, wait, stop! Stop scan! Stop-!_ "

Tadashi recognized this. Baymax was showing Hiro his experiment footage. He supposed that made him there, but that is hardly comforting. Showing these videos would only make Hiro miss him more.

" _Tadashi Hamada again, and this is the thirty-third test of my robotics project. I'm not giving up on you. You don't understand this yet, but people need you. So, let's get back to work_." Hiro looked down in shame, realizing the full violation of what he was making this kind robot do, before looking back up to the next clip. " _This is Tadashi hamada, and this is the eighty-fourth test. What do you say, big guy?_ "

" _Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion_."

" _It works. It works! This is amazing! You... you work! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it. I knew it_." As Video Tadashi let out a little dance, Hiro started to smile, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. When Tadashi saw it, blinked and felt a smile tug on his lips too. This was…actually working? Could the Hiro he knew be returning from the depths of desolation? " _Oh, you work. I can't believe it! I can't...Okay. All right, big moment, here. Scan me_."

" _Your neurotransmitter levels are elevated. This indicates that you are happy_."

" _I am. I really am. Oh, man. Wait till my brother sees you. You're gonna help so many people, buddy. So many. That's all for now. I am satisfied with my care_." The tears finally fell from Hiro's eyes, taking away his grief and letting happiness fill his face. He placed a hand on the Baymax's screen for a moment, looking at Tadashi's sweet smile, before wiping the tears from his cheeks. The light went away and Hiro turned to the camera.

Tadashi stared into those beautiful brown eyes. Hiro was healed, and that fact made Tadashi warm. His brother could still find happiness. This superhero thing wasn't going to take away his humanity. He hadn't destroyed his little brother. Tadashi's heart felt lighter.

" _Thank you, Baymax_." Hiro's contentment turned into guilt. " _I'm so sorry. I guess I'm not like my brother_." Tadashi tilted his head at that, a bit of a helpless smile on his face. ' _No, we're more alike than you think_.' In that moment, Tadashi resolved to be better than this. He would not put Hiro in such a situation again. Fate had given him another chance and he would not mess it up.

Yellow boots came into view. " _Hiro_."

At the call of his name, the young boy turned around, Baymax following the trail of his gaze. It was Gogo and the others, looking at him sadly, clearly having listened to what had happened. Hiro got off the ladder and approached them, looking down ashamedly. " _Guys, I...I..._ "

Hiro was having trouble finding the words he wanted to say. Thankfully, the others seemed to know and Gogo brought him into a hug. After a moment, she broke it to look him in the eye. " _We're going to catch Callaghan, and, this time, we'll do it right_."

" _But maybe don't leave your team stranded on a spooky island next time_."

" _Oh, man_." Hiro slapped his face in his palm, scolding himself.

" _Nah, it's cool. Heathcliff picked us up in the family chopper_."

" _Hiro, we found something you should see_." Honey Lemon said, taking out a memory stick. Everyone watching raised a brow. There was more? What was it? Hiro took the device from her, moving to place it into the computer. Once Hiro brought up the video, the group started to watch carefully.

" _You almost got us all killed!_ " the general exclaimed.

Suddenly, Callaghan entered the frame, angry and yelling as he was held back by officials. " _Krei! You did this! You knew it wasn't ready!_ "

" _Callaghan? He was there?_ " Hiro muttered, pausing the video.

" _He was such a good man. What happened?_ "

" _I don't know_. _But the answer's here somewhere_." Hiro exited the full screen and looked at the other nine frames, reversing the footage at high speed until Honey Lemon stopped him.

" _Wait, wait! Stop_." Hiro did as asked, pausing the video. Honey Lemon leaned over and pointed to a specific frame. Hiro zoomed in on the spot she was pointing to. " _There he is_."

" _With the pilot_." Hiro's head lifted in consideration before going back to the footage. " _Hang on_." He found a specific frame and clicked on it.

" _We've invited all these people_ -" Hiro stopped the video and enlarged the symbols on the side of the woman's helmet. On it read 'Callaghan.' Tadashi and his group gasped.

" _The pilot was Callaghan's daughter! Callaghan blames Krei_."

" _This is a revenge story_." Hiro moved to grab his helmet, putting it on.

" _So, what are we waiting for?_ " Tadashi couldn't watch anymore. He pressed the pause button and leaned back into the chair, running a hand through his hair and letting out a held breathe.

"So that's it!" Fred exclaimed. "All this is for his lost daughter!"

"And he's out to get back at Krei. Wait, doesn't Krei have a new building opening tomorrow?!" Tadashi realized. Honey Lemon gasped.

"Oh no! What do we do?!" The group paused in consideration until Fred, always the imaginative one, got an idea.

"I know!" The brunet pushed Tadashi out of the way and took over the computer. "Hiro must have something on the flash drive we could use." Fred exited the video player and started searching the removable disk's files. When a folder named 'Blueprints' appeared, the comic book lover smirked as the others peaked in curiosity. "There we go!" He started to print the files one by one. Everyone grabbed their respective pages before Tadashi took the blueprints for Baymax and younger Hiro, a determined look on their faces.

"All right! Let's go!"

Baymax watched as the humans rushed out of the room, Tadashi leading the way. When they exited his view, the robot moved towards the computer as awkwardly as ever. He focused his camera on the screen, reopening the video player and zooming in on this younger version of Hiro. He turned back to the unconscious Hiro on the bed. His desire to learn was calculating his relationship to this boy and the health reasoning that would follow if he did the action he wanted to do. Looking at Tadashi and listening in during the viewing, his calculations had told him that Hiro needed more than a healthcare companion, and this other Baymax had learned what the Hamada needed: a friend, somebody who could stand up to him when he is about to make a horrible mistake and hurt someone, and not just somebody to heal his wounds. The marshmallow robot turned back to the computer. All the information he needed would in these memories.

Putting his hand on the computer, Baymax started to download the memory file.

Parallel Baymax was about to return.

* * *

 **Christmas Present**

 _Hiro looked around. This wasn't the living room the three year old had learned to get accustomed to. The place was practically glowing yellow and white with red and green decorations everywhere. There were these little people with a baby and animals on the shelf and fat man with red hat ornaments on the tree in the corner. This was all really new to the toddler's newly aware mind._

 _Those lights were captivating the small child. Hiro wanted to…touch it. With that desire in mind, he wobblingly walked towards one that was sitting on the dining table. He struggled onto a chair and climbed onto the table. When he reached out for the little light, someone's hands went under his arms and pulled him back._

" _Hiro! No! That's fire! It'll hurt you!" It was Tadashi, yelling at him with a worried tone. Hiro didn't take it seriously though, wanting to play with this 'fire' thing. The younger brother reached out again, making the elder pull him into his arms and climb off the chair. "No, Hiro. You'll burn yourself. Come on, follow big brother Tadashi."_

 _Tadashi placed Hiro on the floor and took him by the hand, leading the younger away from the accessible danger. Hiro pulled back, reaching out for the candle and mumbling his complaint. Tadashi rolled his eyes at his younger brother's lack of awareness. He sighed heavily and looked around. He needed to find something to distract his brother or else the house was going to catch fire. When his eyes spotted the Christmas tree, he led the younger towards it._

 _Once there, Tadashi made Hiro sit under the tree and gave him a nutcracker. The younger brother started at the bizarre shaped piece of wood. The nine year old watched as the three year old poked the nutcracker curiously, making the toy fall over. Tadashi made it stand up again, only for it to be poked back down. Hiro giggled, cheering to himself for defeating the strange thing again. Tadashi sighed._

 _Not wanting his brother to learn how to conquer things, Tadashi took the nutcracker away, moving to put it on a shelf. Hiro started to feel sad, sniffling. That toy was fun. Why did his big brother take it? Wiping a tear, his arm knocked a branch, a ball like ornament making a pretty sound as a result. The sound caught the small child's attention. Hiro started to pat it, and when the not-rubber ball made the pretty sound, the three year old laughed._

 _That louder sound made Tadashi turn away from the shelf and put his attention on Hiro again. He watched as his baby brother started tapping the Christmas bauble like a kitten. Good grief, his brother was unintentionally adorable. It stopped being cute when the ball ornament fell off the branch and landed on the hardwood floor and shattered. Hiro whimpered, tears reforming in his eyes. Tadashi gasped._

" _Hang on, Hiro! Don't move! Big brother Tadashi is going to get a broom!" The elder brother quickly left and came back with a broom that was twice his size. He rushed to move the broken glass away from his younger brother and bent down to put it all in a dust pan. Hiro watched, the tears falling. That's not what was supposed to happen when he cries. When you cry, everyone is supposed to comfort you and pick you up, not whatever Tadashi was doing now. Hiro stretched his arms in asking to be picked up, cooing incomprehensible and sobbing words. But his big brother had his back turned away from him. Hiro started to cry harder._

" _Dashi."_

 _Tadashi froze, slowly turning his head to see Hiro's teary face, arms reaching out for him. He misheard right. Hiro couldn't talk yet._

" _Daaashi. T'dashi!"_

" _You said my name…" he muttered in disbelief. Tadashi's eyes widened and a big smile appeared on his face. He jumped for joy. "You said my name! Hiro's first word is Tadashi!"_

 _Tadashi started doing a little dance, cheering and jumping around, before he scooped his baby brother into his arms._

" _T'dashi" Hiro cried out in surprise._

" _Yes, I'm big brother Tadashi~ Who's the smart little Hiro?" Tadashi cooed. He laughed as Hiro blinked at his big brother's weirdness, his confusion stopping his crying. All the little toddler could tell was that he did something good. This was a happy thing. Hiro started to laugh too, clinging to his big brother and cooing incomprehensive sounds. This was a perfect moment._

 _Now they just needed to wait for their parents to come home…_

* * *

Hiro didn't know where this dream came from, but he loved it, letting out a content sigh. It was a time with no burdens, supervillains and Tadashi would take care of him. Tadashi…Tadashi…

Couldn't he just stay here? Did he have to wake up?

His brain said yes and Hiro blearily returned to reality.


	13. Chapter 13: Fight

**Chapter 13: Fight**

Hiro felt very comfortable. He hadn't felt this amazing in a long time. But as his mind began to awaken, his sense of touch registered the feeling of the softest sheets in the universe. Hiro snuggled closer into the cloth, not wanting to let go or ever wake up. But that was not going to happen. His mind eventually started to snap out of the sleepy state and question this situation. That inquiry was what made his eyes suddenly open wide, remembering what had happened.

The dark haired male bolted upright, only to cringe and cradle his chest, his ribs screaming at the action and forcing him to lie back down. He groaned, clutching and touching where it hurt. ' _My ribs are bruised…Just great! That's three weeks of restriction!_ ' As the pain continued to burn, Hiro tried to focus on something else. This room definitely belonged to Fred. There was no mistaking the mix of comic posters and luxurious furniture. ' _So they brought me home_ …' Hiro looked down at his chest. His shirt was gone and was replaced with bandages. ' _And the patched me up…Wait, then that means-!_ ' Hiro's heartbeat quickened and he started touching his mop of hair and wrists, trying to find his helmet and cuffs. It wasn't there. His body was clear for the first time in ages. Of course, it wasn't there. Hiro groaned in panic, gripping his hair. ' _They know. There's no way they can't. Argh! What am I gonna do?! What am I gonna say?! Wait, how's Tadashi going to act? How am I gonna act?! Can I even be called his brother?! What?! What?!_ '

As Hiro started to freak out, sparks could be heard. His eyes darted to the computer near the dresser. Hiro took a step back as electricity started leaving and flickeringly re-entering the device. The hero's eyes narrowed as the sparks seemed to pull towards him when his attention was focused on it. The electricity started to die down after a moment. Hiro tilted his head with a raised brow. ' _What was that…?_ '

The memories of the library computer and the secret hideout computer came to him. Tension twisted his gut and the sparks returned. The tension turned to fear and the electricity became more frantic, until finally it started moving out of control. Rationality started to call out in Hiro's mind. ' _Okay, okay, enough. Calm down, Hiro_.'

Hiro took deep breathes to settle his emotions and, following his lead, the sparks died down, moving more calmly. The young man bit his lip. ' _Yup, it's definitely me_ …'

A more childish and impish side of Hiro took over. The elections were acting to his mind. If he can sharpen his mind, maybe he can gain full control of it. Noticing a battery powered action figure, the dark haired boy focused on it, brimming with confidence and determination. ' _Come here_.' Hiro thought. The figure shook, making Hiro smirk a little and put more focus into it. His eyes never left the toy and eventually, the figure started floating towards him. He caught it and looked at the piece of plastic. Hiro jumped for joy.

"Yes!"

Hiro started looking around for something else to try this superpower on and noticed another one of Fred's robotic action figures. With a better idea of what he was doing, the figure easily moved to his command, even faster than the previous one. Hiro's smile was wide. 'This is so cool!' he thought. That smile turned into a playful smirk, looking at all the electronics in the room. Sticking his arms out, Hiro let go of the two objects. With focus and thought, they floated midway through the fall as if gravity had been disabled. The teenager's eyes moved from side to side before raising his arms. All the various forms of technology began to float as well. They swirled as Hiro began to twirl in circles.

"I can't believe I'm doing this!" Hiro exclaimed happily, watching all the technology move with him. He started dancing around. This bizarre control felt amazing, freeing, like he could do anything. He had not felt this way in a long time.

But the gleeful moment ended when Hiro spotted a single piece of black. It was his memory stick, just barely stuck in the floating computer. Hiro gasped and became distressed as the realization that his brother and friends knew much more than he expected and horrible memories hit him.

"No!" Hiro quickly buried his face in his hands, trying to stop the memories from overtaking him. The clocks, action figures and any other machine fell. The only things that were floating ghostly were the seven objects of his past. They circled him, haunting him. "I won't let it happen. I WON'T!"

Hiro grabbed the floating blue sweater and bolted out the door, the rest of his gear following after him as he went looking for his future teammates.

* * *

The sun shone blindingly in the sky over San Fransokyo, making the buildings reflect its harsh light. Under this gorgeous day, a group of six was quickly flying and jumping over city roof tops. Each of them was wearing proper superhero suits this time, most of them looking exactly like their parallel selves. Honey Lemon had taken the pouch that had broken off of Hiro's suit and turned it into the needed pouch, happy with her purse that has everything. Gogo and Wasabi were just as pleased, loving the way the gear worked, Fred more so than the rest. Tadashi himself had made a suit based on Hiro's, hanging on Baymax's back as the robot flew, but he didn't get the measurements quite right. It was very tight in some places and incredibly loose in others. He couldn't wait for this to be over so he could get out of the costume. That motivation made him realize something.

"Guys, wait!"

"What?" Gogo asked, stopping with everyone else.

"Does anyone know where we're going?"

"We're stopping the professor."

"Yeah, but where?"

The group paused, now realizing that they had no idea how to answer that question. They were in such a rush that they completely forgot that important detail. Honey Lemon was about to go online to find the answer until the unmistakable sound of screaming rang in their ears. They turned and saw black hanging over a silver building.

"Go, go, go!" Tadashi exclaimed, urging everyone to hurry.

With their incredible speed, it didn't take long for them to reach the apparently newly built Krei Tech campus. Upon getting closer, they saw Callaghan holding Krei in an inescapable grip of microbots. The professor's face was revealed to show the unquellable hatred and rage that filled his heart. Suddenly, more microbots appeared, carrying three sections of the portal and putting them together over the area. The portal activated and glowed blue. Pieces of the building started to float, breaking apart and flying into the gateway.

"Professor Callaghan!" Tadashi cried out as he and the group landing on the roofs, his voice desperate and making his former professor turn to him. "Please, let him go! Is this what Abigail would've wanted?!"

"Abigail is gone!" Callaghan growled. Tadashi looked into his former professor's eyes, reading the story of pain and anger they told. His eyes softened. The college student could relate. He had been doing this earlier. But despite that, he still didn't know what to say. Taking in a breath, Tadashi got ready to speak. He knew he had to do something.

"This won't change anything…" Callaghan's expression did calm down slightly, but it was rather short lived.

"Ther-" Baymax started, but no one was giving him a chance to speak.

"Listen to the kid, Callaghan." Krei begged. "Please, let me go. I'll give you anything you want!"

Those were the wrong words. Whatever reasoning Tadashi had managed to give Callaghan was completely erased. Krei had not changed. He was still selfish and arrogant. That made the microbot user's hatred boil.

"I want my daughter back!" The kabuki mask slid back onto Callaghan's face, hiding his expression, and he ordered a wave of bots to attack the group of students. They dodged in different directions. Tadashi rolled out of the way with Baymax standing next to him.

"Professor!" Tadashi exclaimed. He gritted his teeth and climbed onto the red clad robot as Callaghan trapped Krei to a wall with some metal beams, glaring eyes never leaving his opponents. "Go for the mask!"

"Wait." Baymax said, making the person on his back turn to him.

"W-Wha-?" Callaghan shot more microbots towards Tadashi and Baymax. The red robot dodged them easily, zooming in the air on his rockets.

"In Hiro's universe, we did not follow that plan." Tadashi's eyes narrowed in confusion. To clear it, Baymax sent a familiar voice through the communicator. " _New plan! Forget the mask. Take out the bots! They'll get sucked up into the portal!_ " It was Hiro's voice. Everyone's eyes widened in realization at the suggestion and then the group smirked in confidence.

"Now that is a plan!" Wasabi shouted, activating his new plasma blades, their power stronger and the blade larger.

"Honey, Fred, can you give us some cover?" Gogo asked as she dodged microbots that were aimed at her. They were starting to become overwhelming.

"Like you have to ask."

"Let's do this, Freddie!"

Not a second later, Honey Lemon pulled out a few blue orbs and threw them into the air. Fred easily matched their height and blew fire onto them. Light blue smoke covered the area, making Callaghan look around, disorientated as he became blinded by the vapour. He made the microbots hold him higher into the air and over the dense cloud. The only thing the former professor could see was Baymax flying in the sky. With no other target, Callaghan aimed for Baymax and Tadashi, multiple streams of microbots shooting from the concealing cloud. Baymax avoided them with ease and flew towards the portal. For a moment, Tadashi was scared that Baymax was going to head into the portal, but was proved wrong when they were a meter from it and the red robot dove down to the ground. Baymax slammed his fist into the microbot attack, the tiny machines going limp and heading into the portal. As Baymax continued this, Tadashi heard his friends through the communicator.

" _Whoa, the gravity's getting a little weird here, guys! Wait, let's use this! These are green blades of fury!_ " The black haired male started to notice multiple bots floating from the clouds.

" _Woman up!_ "

" _Double sign-spin. Now my signs are on fire!_ "

" _Now that's a chemical reaction!_ "

A massive number of microbots emerged from the smokescreen below. Tadashi blinked in surprise. He had no idea what they were doing down there, but it sounded amazing. The black haired male smiled. His friends were awesome. And clearly his robot was too.

"Back kick. Knife hand. Roundhouse. Hammer fist." Baymax was hitting waves of black bots with ease. Things were going extremely well and Tadashi let out a small smile. They could win. Tadashi frowned when a dark feeling gripped his heart, but before he could dwell on it, he felt Baymax jerk harshly to avoid some bots that nearly caught them.

"This ends now!" Callaghan gestured his arms as he ordered the microbots to defeat Baymax. His arms sagged in confusion and he tried again, tilting his head as the microbots still wouldn't respond to his commands. Again and again, the former professor tried to attack. Tadashi smirked.

"Looks like you're out of microbots."

"What?" The mask wearer looked down at the clearing mist, surprised to see that the only microbots he had left were holding him and the portal up.

"Baymax!" With that, the robot zoomed down, rockets blazing and a fist extended for the black clad man's face.

"No!" Callaghan screamed, bringing his arms up to shield himself. When nothing happened, he blinked and looked up from his cover. Baymax's fist was inches away from him. He breathed deeply, bringing his arms to his sides as he calmed down.

"Our programing prevents us from injuring a human being. But we'll take that." At Tadashi's words, Baymax broke his fist and extended his fingers. He took the mask and broke it. Instantly, the microbots went deactivated, flying into the falling portal and making Callaghan lose his footing. The former microbot user gasped as he started to fly towards the gateway to the unknown. Baymax circled around and caught Callaghan before the portal did as the massive machine crashed into what was left of the Krei Tech building. Seeing where the rest of the group was cowering, Baymax put Callaghan down and landed. Tadashi jumped off the red robot and turned to the portal.

"We have to shut it down!" The black haired male turned to the people behind him, hoping for advice. Krei looked panicked as he recalled all his information on the current subject.

"We can't! The containment field is failing! The portal is gonna tear itself apart!"

"We need to get out of here, now!"

Just when the group was about to run away, they spotted a very familiar figure. Hiro was walking towards them, a hand over his ribs and panting, his blue sweater flying behind him with the wind. Tadashi was about to run to him, but he froze when he noticed something amazing. Hiro's gear was floating around him like bubbles. The sight was mind-boggling and no one knew what to make of it, mouths open in disbelief, gawking. They were so shocked that they couldn't move when Hiro closed his eyes and the gear went to their respective places and activated, covering Hiro in armour. Once the helmet formed, he ran passed them and headed for the portal. That made Tadashi snap out of his daze.

"Hiro!"

The indigo hero didn't listen. Instead, he jumped in. The group started incredulity.

"W-Why?" Tadashi muttered.

"Hiro must be going after Abigail."

"What?!"

"There are signs of life coming from inside the portal. She is in hyper-sleep."

"She's still alive?!"

"Abigail." The former professor's eyes widened with hope. Tadashi's mind quickly calculated the situation and came to a rather obvious conclusion.

"Let's go after them." he said, climbing onto Baymax.

"Tadashi!" his friends cried out.

"The portal is destabilizing! You'll never make it!"

"Abigail's alive in there. Hiro is injured and going God knows where. I am not losing my brother again and someone has to help!" Tadashi argued back, putting his arms and legs in place. "What do you say, Buddy?"

"Flying makes me a better healthcare companion." Baymax activated his thrusters and flew into the air before diving into the portal.

Suddenly, the two were surrounded by light, forcing the human close his eyes. When he felt that the light had faded, Tadashi opened them, taking in the colourful, twisted and smoky environment. It was like the sunset sky was warped, purple, pink and blue bending with no law. As they flew over some of the misty colours, they found debris littering the area.

"Careful, Baymax! There's Krei Tech debris everywhere." Tadashi advised, and started looking for his little brother. He gasped when he saw debris heading towards them, but Baymax easily dodged it. When wall of windows appeared, Baymax avoided it completely.

"I have located Hiro and the patient." Baymax informed, looking straight ahead.

Gazing to where the robot was looking, Tadashi couldn't believe what he saw. ' _Hiro!_ '

All the microbots that Baymax and the others had forced into the portal were moving on their own. No, that wasn't right. They seemed to be moving to Hiro's wishes. Hiro was anchored to a large piece of debris thanks to the microbots. The younger brother was facing a white object, which Tadashi could only assume was the pod Abigail was in. The elder brother tilted his head when he noticed that Hiro's hand was outstretched towards the pod.

Hiro groaned in frustration. The indigo hero had hoped that he could get in, quickly get Abigail and get out, but his situation was making that plan scrap. He had been trying to get the pod to come to him, but the machine wouldn't budge. Was it too big? Knowing he didn't have much time, he decided to give up on controlling the pod. Since he could still manipulate the microbots, he asked them to form a hand and tried to grab Abigail, but the piece of debris the hero was standing on was moving too much, the pod was too far away, and he didn't have as much control over the microbots as he thought he did.

As his irritation grew, he shot the bots out again angrily, only to miss every time. Hiro gaped. ' _I'm gonna need more practice. Until then…_ ' Hiro tried again, but he still couldn't grab it, frustration growing. Hiro let out sigh to calm down before looking at the pod in determination. ' _Hmmm, look for a new angle_ …' The indigo hero started to look around. Finding nothing helpful in front of him, he tried his luck with behind. When his eyes landed on Baymax and Tadashi heading towards him, Hiro's blood froze.

"Oh crap!" Hiro lost control of the bots and they started floating limply in the vast space. The young man turned back, noticing his mistake, watching the microbots start to move away from him and towards the pod. Hiro blinked as an idea came to mind. The indigo hero lifted his arm and activated his power again. Moving his finger, Hiro had a vision in his head and told every bot individually to surround the pod. The larger machine was now trapped, unable to move around. Then, like a chain, the bots attached themselves together again. Shackled tightly, the pod was now in Hiro's grasp. He smiled and made the microbots bring the pod towards him. Finally, Hiro found himself holding the string to the pod like a balloon.

"Hiro! Look out!"

Suddenly, the indigo hero noticed a piece of debris heading towards where he was standing on. To make matters worse, an overwhelming headache made him grab his head in pain. The microbots shook like they were about to burst. Hiro glanced back at the incoming debris. It was too close, there was no way he could stop it. The fragments of Krei tech collided with each other and the result had Hiro flying uncontrollably like he was in space. He screamed.

"Hiro!"

At the call of his name the younger brother opened his eyes and caught sight of Tadashi reaching out to him. His head hurt so much, but he still had the mind power to register that he had to focus on the microbots and the pod. Closing his eyes and trying to ignore the pain, he trusted his fate with Tadashi and Baymax.

Baymax knew exactly what to do. He went ahead of Hiro's trajectory and caught the younger brother, using his thrusters to stop. Tadashi's eyes trailed the shaking microbots holding the pod and then turned back to his brother, who was holding a pained expression and hands on his head. Was Hiro's 'power' hurting him? If that was the case, they had to get out of here now.

"Come on, Buddy, let's get them home!" Tadashi said urgently, grabbing the chain of microbots as Hiro groaned and clutched his head harder. Agreeing, Baymax hurriedly zoomed off. With a clear view, he avoided any debris heading their way and disappeared into the gateway to home.

And light once again enveloped their world.


	14. Chapter 14: Future

**Chapter 14: Future**

After crashing back into their world, the portal finally broke down and exploded. Baymax put Hiro on the ground as Gogo, Honey Lemon, Wasabi and Fred rushed towards them worriedly. When Hiro felt the ground, he blearily opened his eyes and made the microbots let go of the pod, letting out a gasp of relief. Callaghan headed straight for it, opening the vehicle and cradling the unconscious girl in his arms, muttering 'thank goodness' over and over like a mantra. The indigo hero smiled tiredly. Tadashi, on the other hand, was too worried to pay attention to his old teacher and turned to Hiro, who had suddenly activated the bots again and retreated to a rooftop, leaving the group behind.

"Hiro! Wait!" Tadashi cried out. Immediately, the older brother and the group followed after Hiro and found the younger brother sitting with a hand to his forehead, groaning on a pile of microbots. The older brother jumped off Baymax and went up to the younger, crouching down and looking the younger brother over. "Hiro, are you okay?!"

"Just tired. Bad headache."

"Is it because of that weird thing you were doing earlier?" Honey Lemon questioned worriedly, glancing at the lifeless microbots. Hiro nodded slightly, grunting.

"I have a feeling it might be. Does anyone have any Advil?"

"No." everyone replied.

"Drat. J-Just give me a second." Hiro lay back, putting an arm over his stomach as he tried to get the pain to settle down. With everyone's eyes on him, the prodigy sensed that the agony he was feeling would only be the beginning. He could feel it in his gut, already imagining what questions were going to be asked. He groaned. For now, however, he would deal with one headache at a time. Baymax approached the suffering patient.

"That anomaly in your brain is currently overactive. I recommend relaxing with an ice pack on your head." Hiro hummed.

"That sounds nice." With permission, Baymax bent down and his palm lit blue, placing it on Hiro's forehead. The younger brother let out a happy sigh, the coolness feeling nice against his pounding head. The gang watched as Hiro relaxed and nuzzled Baymax's hand like a kitten. It was…cute.

When they heard sirens, the group flinched in surprise and turned to the demolition below. The police and paramedics had finally arrived. Krei ran up and started explaining to the police what had happened while Callaghan continued to hug his daughter, not even bothering with the people surrounding him. The paramedics rushed to each of them, some working to encourage the former professor to let them take care of the unconscious woman in the pod. Not much later, Callaghan was handcuffed and placed into a police car. The daughter was taken away on a stretcher.

Tadashi felt a pang in his heart as the ambulance doors closed. Even with everything the former professor had done, the college student felt emptiness at the idea that the rescued pilot would meet her father again in jail. He could only imagine what the two must be feeling, present and future. With such a time gap between them, there was bound to be confusion, guilt and adjusting.

Turning his head, Tadashi looked back at his brother. How was Hiro felling about all this? The younger was in an interesting insider-outsider situation, being part yet not involved with this universe, so it must have been incredibly confusing. Tadashi narrowed his eyes. The world had given Hiro back to him and he was determined to keep the younger brother safe. He was determined not to lose Hiro again. He was determined to make sure Hiro felt like he belonged, take him home. Tadashi approached the younger brother when Hiro let out a frown.

"What's wrong, Hiro? Got a brain freeze?" he asked in concern. As the gang turned to the two Hamadas, Hiro blinked, sitting up.

"No, no, I'm okay." Hiro stood up, getting out of Baymax's hold. He then turned to the microbots and made them move. "I think I can move on now."

Tadashi flinched in worry. "W-Wait, what about your headache?!"

"I think I've rested enough, guys. I have the strength to make it to Fred's house. Let's go!" With that, Hiro took off on the microbots, hand holding his head.

The group turned to each other worriedly and followed the younger.

* * *

The journey back had been relatively silent, everyone in their own worlds and wondering different things, yet unable to voice them. Once the group entered Fred's bedroom, Fred gasped and the others blinked in confusion. The brunet's room was a mess, figures lying on the floor and electronic devices sitting where they didn't belong.

"My babies! W-What happened?!" the comic lover exclaimed, picking up the action figures frantically and placing them on the shelves where they belong.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, my fault." Everyone turned to Hiro incredulously.

"W-Was it that strange trick you were doing earlier?"

"Uh, yeah. I just found out about it and, well, I tested it out. Your stuff just happened to be next to me." Hiro replied, scratching the back of his head guiltily.

"Since when can you do any of this anyway?" Tadashi asked. If his Hiro had been keeping superpowers a secret from him, the elder brother wouldn't know what to think. Hiro's thoughtful look and tilt of the head didn't help his feelings settle. The younger brother let out a little laugh.

"To be honest, I only gained this ability recently. I noticed the signs a few days ago, but just confirmed it this morning."

Tadashi was a little relieved to hear it, the idea of his little brother keeping secrets now erased from his mind, but he was still worried. "I-Is it safe to use? You have a very bad headache."

Hiro shrugged off the concern, placing a hand on his forehead. "I think that so long as I don't overdo it, I'll be fine."

The time-traveller moved to a corner of the room, Baymax following after him. Hiro then started removing Baymax's armour. When the last piece was off and Hiro started removing his gear, Baymax sat on the floor with a plop and extended his arms as if asking Hiro for a hug. The patient rubbed his ribs unconsciously and took a seat. The group stared with a raised brow, watching as the prodigy let cold hands calm his burning ribs. Hiro let out a grunt of uncomfortableness and adjusted Baymax's hands slightly so that his injuries wouldn't sting so badly. Finding that there was no good position, he sighed disappointedly and looked back at the rest of the group, noticing their stares.

"…Aren't you going to sit down?"

"A-Ah, right…" Tadashi stuttered, moving to take a seat at the computer chair. Gogo, Honey Lemon and Wasabi moved to the bed, sitting on the structure at the same time. Fred was still running around, putting figures where they belonged. Hiro watched the brunet run around with a guilt filled blush until Fred was finished.

"So how does it feel to be a technopath?" Fred asked curiously, finally taking his seat on a nearby chair. Hiro tilted his head, raising a brow as he picked up one of his gear cuffs.

"Is that the term for this?"

"I think so."

"Huh. Okay then." Hiro looked up them with a bored look on his face. "It's very exciting when I don't have a mind splitting headache."

Everyone let out a little smile at Hiro's amusing statement. The mood felt lighter, like this situation wasn't such a big deal. After all the drama, all the fear, all the action, a little humorous sarcasm was needed. And it told them that Hiro was definitely Hiro no matter how aged he was, cutely sassy. When the mood passed, the gang took notice of the thoughtful look on Hiro's face.

"It all started when I came here…Could traveling through time and parallel worlds have such side effects?" Hiro mused, bringing a question to the minds of the people around him.

"Hiro…how did you get here?" Hiro cringed at Honey Lemon's inquiry before closing his eyes and his shoulders sagged. The group was quiet, waiting for the answer as Hiro seemed to think carefully about what he was going to say. After a while, when Hiro opened his eyes, there was a dull and sad quality to his expression.

"It would probably be best…if I start at the beginning."

* * *

 _It was a completely ordinary day, large fluffy clouds floating around the sun. Baymax, Fred and Honey Lemon were on hero duty until the rest of Big Hero 6's school day was over, letting Hiro walk to school without a care. This had been their system for three months, balancing their school schedules and saving the city perfectly. With such convenient management, life couldn't be more peaceful._

 _However, when the leader of San Fransokyo's team of heroes went passed the school doors, he was approached by a man that would change everything._

 _"Excuse me. You're Hiro Hamada, right? The science prodigy?" Hiro stopped, turning to the source of the deep voice. There was a man much older than him, standing straight like a soldier at the entrance to the college. This posture made the man much taller than Hiro and the large muscles made the hero leader wary. He didn't look like any of the teachers here. His clothes were dishevelled and faded. There was a determined look on this man's face, piercing black eyes analyzing and it made Hiro shy. The young college prodigy didn't like talking to strangers._

 _"U-Um, yes, I am. Can I help you?"_

 _"I think you can." Hiro tilted his head. "I am working on a project that I think you will be greatly interested in." That piqued the boy's curiosity, the call of science bringing the black haired boy into the discussion._

 _"Oh? What is it?"_

 _"A time-travel machine."_

 _Hiro froze. That call of science was the voice of the devil. As appealing and convenient as the subject seemed, it was incredibly dangerous. Used for good intentions and the whole world would implode on itself. Used by bad people and nothing would remain. Time could not be controlled without horrible consequences. No one knew what happened if it worked, but any change to the space-time continuum would be disastrous. Time-travel simply wasn't worth it. This man was crazy if he thought he could access this power._

 _"Y-You're kidding, right? That's impossible, not to mention dangerous!" he shouted. The mysterious stranger seemed unfazed by his answer._

 _"So? We are people of science. We can modify the formula of time so that it doesn't give problems." The stranger started moving forward with a presence that made Hiro afraid and back away. This man was clearly delusional._

 _"Time isn't going to be manipulated so easily! You could end up destroying everything!"_

 _"What does any of it matter?!" Pressing forward faster, mystery man made Hiro stumble in backing away until finally he hit the wall. "What does it matter if the person I love most isn't here?!"_

 _Hiro stared at this man with wide eyes. This person had lost someone important to him too. Gears of the mind started to click, speculating the possibilities of what this man has been through. His heart panged with a sudden constricting grip. Hiro's face twisted, troubled eyes pressed together and lips in a disturbed frown. What was this feeling? Sympathy? Dread? Yearning…?! The stranger smirked, seeing something in the prodigy's eyes, slamming his hands on the wall to trap the boy, bring his face to the boy's ear. Hiro squeaked fearfully._

 _"You've lost someone too, haven't you? Don't you want to bring him back? Don't you want to be with him again?" Hiro shivered as the manipulative devil's words shook his core. He started to feel scared. His mind really wanted to say no, but his heart wanted what this man was proposing so much that he felt the word yes at the back of his throat. He wanted Tadashi back. He wanted his big brother so much. Hiro's heart constricted in fear and desire, and this mad man sensed it. "If we succeed, we can stop them from ever leaving us."_

 _Hiro felt like he was going to break, shivering harder and starting to cry. His lips parted, ready to let out an answer. Hiro wasn't even sure what it was and that terrified him. 'Someone help!'_

 _"Hey!" The two turned to see two people approaching them. Hiro felt so relieved._

 _"W-Wasabi, G-Gogo!"_

 _Gogo ripped the mystery man's arms away and Wasabi took Hiro's hand, moving the fourteen year old away from the dangerous man. They glared at this stranger who was scaring their friend, standing protectively in front of the teen. Hiro started taking deep breathes to try and calm down, squeezing Wasabi's hand for comfort._

 _"What are you doing?" Gogo growled. The stranger's eyes became dull and void._

 _"Nothing." he said monotonously._

 _"Then why is he crying?" The tall man looked at Hiro, making the boy stiffen and hide behind the bandana wearer. The stranger's eyes narrowed and looked at Gogo and Wasabi for a quiet moment. He turned away, walking out of the college silently. Gogo and Wasabi turned to Hiro worriedly._

 _"Are you okay?!" Wasabi asked._

 _"Y-Yeah…"_

 _"As if! You're shaking." At Gogo's words, Hiro's eyes widened and he hugged himself, trying to stop the shivering. Gogo narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "What the hell did he want from you?"_

 _"H-He wanted me to help him invent t-time-travel."_

 _"Are you serious?!" they yelled in response._

 _"He w-wants to save someone he lost. A-And I started thinking about Tadashi! I-I actually considered helping that demon!" Hiro started to break down, crying and hiccupping. He tried to wipe the tears away, thinking about his brother and hating himself for letting the idea of bringing him back no matter what. Hiro slid down the wall, burying his face in his knees. Wasabi and Gogo sat down to rub circles on his back comfortingly. "I-I know the present is more important than the past, but if that man comes back, I don't know what I'll do!"_

 _Gogo slowly brought Hiro into a hug. "It'll be okay. We won't let you do anything stupid, so woman up."_

 _The prodigy whimpered and sniffled in her chest, choking out his sobs._

* * *

 _Hiro was too emotional to go to class that day. Accompanied (escorted) by Gogo and Wasabi, they decided to watch some heartwarming home videos and eat gummy bears to calm down. The prodigy had eaten six large bags before Wasabi decided to keep him away from the rest. When they met up with the others that night and explained what happened, they agreed that Hiro should probably not go to school alone until they were sure that 'Seishin,' which was what Fred decided to call him, was not a threat._

 _A day. A week. A month. Time went by, relatively back to normal, until three days after Hiro's fifteenth birthday, something horrible happened…_

* * *

 **Valentine's Day Gift**

 _Tadashi walked quietly down the street, his little brother's small hand in his. It had been two years since his parents died and he wasn't feeling better. Ever since that tragic day, Tadashi was quiet, spoke monotonously and barely reacted to anything. He barely smiled, only doing so to encourage or cheer up Hiro. His grey world reflected in his actions towards others. He tried to fix this by taking care of Hiro. The elder brother took the younger to school and played with him._

 _But responsibility was not enough to break Tadashi from the wall he created to prevent others from getting any closer to him._

 _Hiro, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as depressed. He barely remembered his parents at this time, only having vague images of the memories. However, the five year old did, in fact, remember that Tadashi didn't used to act this way. The big brother used to be much more energetic and caring, having much more investment when they interacted and played. Now his brother may as well be a stick that talked to him sometimes to tell him to brush his teeth and go to bed. That bugged the younger child. Tadashi shouldn't be acting this way. Their brotherly relationship felt void and stoic like this. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to fix it. Such things as depression and sorrow were still foreign to him. At most, he wide eyed child thought that so long as he was himself, the old Tadashi might return._

 _Normal conversation, however, was also a foreign concept to the five year old._

" _Hey, big brother, why is the school acting so weird today?" Tadashi blinked in registration and turned to the boy holding his hand blankly._

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Everyone is acting funny! There's pink and red hearts everywhere, even some of my classmates are wearing those colours. There were also these heart shaped chocolates!"_

" _Oh, that's because it's Valentine's Day." Hiro tilted his head, not familiar with the term._

" _What is that?"_

" _It's a day when people express their love with chocolate and kissing."_

" _Oh."_

 _Silence had come between them again. Tadashi wasn't thinking much of it. Hiro was probably just processing the new information. He turned his attention back to the road, eyes staring blankly at the sidewalk and mind void of thought. Suddenly, out of the blue, Hiro pulled Tadashi towards him, forcing the older to bend down, and kissed his big brother on the lips. Tadashi's eyes widened in shock and immediately broke the connection, making Hiro tilt his head in confusion as the elder brother started freaking out._ 'Thatwas my first kiss! T-That was Hiro's first kiss!'

" _W-What are you doing?!" Tadashi exclaimed. Hiro didn't understand his brother's reaction, ignorant to the fact that he just lost his first kiss, which was supposed to be a big deal, but not to the five year old's mind._

" _You said Valentine's Day is the day we express love with kissing. I love Tadashi, so I kissed you."_

 _Tadashi gawked at his brother's naïve yet not nature. "I meant to a girlfriend or boyfriend!"_

 _Hiro puffed his cheeks in annoyance. "Well, you should have said that first!"_

 _The younger brother started walking ahead of the older. Tadashi could only stare at his brother's back, his mouth twitching and unable to form words. His brother was completely naïve and ignorant. He thought Hiro was smarter than this! He had to fix this. Who knows who would target his innocent little brother?! He had to teach Hiro social conventions and common sense fast!_

 _Ever since then, Tadashi doted on his brother whenever he could. The older brother made himself into the best role model he could be for his brother, being kind and caring to others, helping whoever he could and guided Hiro through life. He talked more, creating conversations about whatever he thought was important; holidays, technology, stranger danger, trying to teach the younger good advice. This time together made Tadashi smile more, noticing his cute little brother's antics and love for gummy bears._

 _They were closer now. And nothing would break them apart. Tadashi would make certain of that._


	15. Chapter 15: Paths

**Chapter 15: Paths**

 _It was a cloudy weekend. Big Hero 6 was scattered throughout the city, looking out for anything out of the ordinary. Hiro was flying around on Baymax, ready to give backup to anybody. After flying around for a bit, Baymax landed on the tallest building of San Fransokyo, trying to conserve his energy. Hiro jumped off, almost losing balance from the strong winds, looking at the people below and zooming on different areas with his visor._

" _See anything up there, Hiro?" Honey Lemon asked._

" _Um…" Hiro looked around a bit more before something definitely bizarre caught his attention. In the distance, the leader saw Fred jumping into the air, striking different, silly superhero poses. Hiro chuckled. "Yeah, I see Fred jumping like a kid on a trampoline downtown."_

 _A second later, Gogo tackled Fred in the air. Hiro blinked. '_ That was quick _.'_

" _Don't draw attention to yourself, idiot!"_

" _We're superheroes! Cool poses are everything. Here, come stand at the edge of the rooftop with me!"_

" _No. Get down from there!"_

 _The outsiders of the fight sweat dropped as they listened to the argument continue. They seemed to be at it a lot. Fred should really tone the antics down of he wants to stop getting beat up and earning disapproving looks from Wasabi._

" _Gogo, Fred, please stop fighting." Honey Lemon pleaded through the com-link. However, the two didn't seem to hear her. She sighed dejectedly._

" _It's like listening to an unhappy couple…" Wasabi remarked. "Should we stop them?"_

 _Hiro shrugged. "Nah. They'll wear themselves out eventually. Let's focus on look out."_

 _Wasabi and Honey Lemon acknowledged his suggestion and they went back to work. Hiro looked towards the sea, zooming in on the harbour, searching for trouble. All in all, everything seemed fine, people going about their business without anything happening. Hiro opened his helmet and rubbed his eyes. He was feeling a little tired. The prodigy stretched in an attempt to wake himself up and get his muscles out of their stiff positions, groaning. '_ Argh, I stayed in that position too long _…'_

" _Hiro." Said boy blinked at turned to Baymax, who was staring into the distance._

" _Huh? What is it?" The healthcare robot pointed to what he was looking at._

" _There is a cloud of an unidentifiable substance heading this way."_

 _Hiro narrowed his eyes in concern and put his visor back on. He could see something, but it was too far away, so he zoomed in. The Big Hero 6 leader did in fact see a bizarre cloud. It wasn't like the grey clouds already in the sky. It was white, unnaturally white, shadows nowhere to be seen. It rolled down the land like lava and lightning sparked. The thickness and the waves made it look like the cloud as eating the earth. The prodigy snapped out of his daze when police sirens blared and he saw people running to their cars and homes. Without a moment of thought, Hiro's phone rang. He answered it in a second._

" _Hello?"_

" _Hiro, where are you?!" Hiro tried to wrap his mind around the situation and the panic in his caretaker's voice._

" _Aunt Cass? What's wrong?"_

" _It's on the news! There's a strange cloud coming this way! It's really fast! You have to find shelter!"_

 _Hiro started walking over to Baymax, who tilted his head to the prodigy in confusion. "Why? What's it doing?"_

" _I don't know! S-Something bad! There's no communication with anyone inside!"_

 _The boy genius tried to come up with an explanation for this phenomenon. Many things can interrupt communication, but this was definitely different. Hiro's eyes narrowed. If something interferes with the communicator, then there was nothing Big Hero 6 could do. They would likely be useless._

" _Hiro! Where are you right now?!" At the call of his name, Hiro's train of thought derailed and he was returned to reality._

" _Uh! Um, I'm- uh, on my way home!" Hiro glanced at the cloud. It was getting closer. "I'll get there as soon as I can!"_

" _You better! Please be careful!"_

 _Upon ending the call, Hiro turned his attention from his caretaker to his team, switching from his cellphone to the communicator. This storm was dangerous. He could feel it. They needed to get out. "Guys, there's a storm coming! And I don't mean the rainy kind."_

" _What are you talking about?" Gogo asked, finally done with her fight._

" _Get onto a taller building! It should be big enough to see now!" Hiro instructed._

 _After a moment, everyone understood._

" _Holy Doctor Strange! What is that?!" Fred cried out._

" _I don't think clouds are supposed to look like that." Wasabi commented nervously._

" _No one knows what it is. But it cuts off communication and I'm not going to assume that's the only thing it does, so I think it's time to go home."_

" _Agreed!" everyone yelled out._

 _With that, Hiro climbed onto Baymax. When they noticed that the cloud was getting faster, somehow touching the north-east of the city without their awareness, the two took off, thrusters blazing. It was incredible how fast it was moving, completely swallowing the top part of San Fransokyo, where Wasabi was. Hiro made a silent prayer that his friend was okay. Baymax sensed the boy's distress._

" _It'll be alright, Hiro." The healthcare robot said. In response, the prodigy tightened his grip._

" _I hope you're right…" he muttered, watching as the cloud took over half the city, reaching where Honey Lemon was, increasing his worry. Not just for his friends' wellbeing, but now also about the speed in which this cloud was moving. It was too close to the flying duo for his comfort. At this rate, they weren't going to make it into the café before it caught up to them._

 _And he was right._

 _Just when they arrived at the garage door, the cloud completely overtook them._

 _And all hell broke loose._

 _Baymax screeched painfully._

 _Hiro screamed._

 _His helmet made a horrible noise, forcing the wearer to take it off, throwing it away and immediately took off his magnetic padded gloves. As he rubbed his burned hands, Hiro looked to where his gear had fallen and his eyes widened. Sparks could be seen moving around until they got larger and caught fire. Hiro stiffened and turned to Baymax. His friend was doing the same. He looked like he was in great pain, struggling to move around._

 _When a little spark was seen, Hiro felt huge dread in his heart._

 _This fog was hurting his friend._

" _Baymax!"_

 _Hiro rushed to the healthcare robot's side and opened the access port, quickly removing the healthcare chip and hiding it in his armour where the fog couldn't get to it. As he pushed the armour chest plate down, he heard a noise from Baymax and was suddenly pushed away. He landed on the pavement, still holding his chest armour tight. He lifted his head to see Baymax, the robot's arms extended in his direction._

" _Bzzzz, bzzzz Hi-"_

 _Like Hiro's gear, the sparks intensified and Baymax exploded into fire. The prodigy watched the flames in pure horror. The metal turned black under the heat and Hiro felt his heart sink. He hugged his chest tighter. '_ It's okay. It's okay. I can rebuild him _…'_

" _Ahhhhh!"_

 _Hiro gasped, eyes widening. An explosion overtook the garage, spreading fire from within. Another one occurred in the house next door. Another down the street. Another somewhere in the city. Another. Another. But the blast that really made his heart stop came from the café. Hiro's heart stopped at the realization that someone precious to him was in there, barely registering the third explosion coming from his room. '_ Aunt Cass! _'_

" _Aunt Cass!" he cried out._

 _Hiro stood and started running, trying to find an opening in the flames so he may search the house. He was so desperate he didn't know he had already circled the structure twice. '_ This can't be happening! Not again! Please! Please! _' He circled one more time, looking at doors and windows, but the flames were too intense. He couldn't get in at all._

 _But he didn't give up._

" _Aunt Cass?!" he tried again, this time searching outside the burning building. He turned left to right and searched the streets, trying, hoping, to see if his aunt had escaped the furnace of a house, but she was nowhere to be seen. All he saw was more houses burning with wings of fire. The white cloud had passed and was no longer in view, having moved on to destroy wherever it touched._

" _A-Aunt Cass?!" Hiro called in desperation, his heart breaking, tears falling. It was hard to breathe. Hiro wasn't sure if it was the flames or the panic and dread. He didn't want to believe he had lost all that was left of his family. He just couldn't._

 _The earth shook and Hiro lost his footing, falling to the ground and panting. Buildings started to crumble. Hiro watched in horror as the café started to fall apart, listening to each breaking brick as they hit the pavement. His body jerked as the cement cracked like thin ice and moved. It was too dangerous to stay now. If Hiro stayed where he was, he would either be crushed or get swallowed by the earth._

 _Hiro tried to stand, but his legs felt weak and the shaking earth made achieving balance even worse, falling back down immediately. Everything was falling apart. Just a few hours ago, everything was normal and now…_

 _It was just gone._

 _There was nothing._

 _He was all alone._

 _Was there even any point in continuing?_

'Tadashi's gone. Aunt Cass is gone. My home is gone… _'_ _Hiro shook his head, clutching his chest plate._ _'_ No, no, I mustn't give up. _' With a_ _renewed resolve, Hiro wiped his tears and unsteadily stood._

 _He would have to find shelter now and search for his friends later._

 _He must have faith._

* * *

 _The forest couldn't really be considered a forest anymore. The soil seemed to have been teared apart and the trees were either sticking out at odd angles, fallen or had been crushed by rocks that had fallen down the mountain. Hiro had been lucky. His hiding place was an abandoned rusty old truck that he and Tadashi used to play in as children. It protected him from anything that might fall on him. When the earth stopped shaking and the fire seemed close to an ember, the boy in dusty indigo emerged and started wandering around the mountain forest, trying to get back to the ruined city, hoping to find somebody._

 _Somewhere along the way, he saw a ten year old boy with spiky black hair. He was crying next to a large fallen rock. Hiro's eyes trailed the chunk of earth and moved to up the mountain. There was a curve that could have been used to project a rolling object like a catapult. Judging by the angle, the landing spot would have been in this location. Hiro closed his eyes with a pained look and turned his back._

 _Wanting to get a look at the poor soul, Hiro looked to what was under the boulder. There was a very familiar large hand sticking out and the prodigy's blood went cold. His heart felt like an icicle had been stabbed through it and he clutched it and his armour plate with a horrified look. He whimpered, holding himself back from crying. He didn't want to cry anymore. '_ Why is this happening?! Oh, Wasabi! _' Hiro screamed in his mind in despair._

 _The sobbing boy noticed the small sound Hiro had made and finally noticed his presence. Seeing the disturbed look of familiarity staring at the unmoving hand, the boy started to cry harder, catching Hiro's attention. "H-He saved me! I-I-!"_

 _The boy wailed and sobbed louder, unable to continue talking. Hiro calmed down as he looked at him and turned back to Wasabi's hand. The prodigy pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes painfully, face scrunched in despair. The bandana wearer had always been so cautious. Hiro had never thought this could happen. Wasabi wouldn't-! He shook his head. '_ No, Wasabi always did what was right _…' Hiro proceeded to curse internally, his world becoming grey with misery and loneliness. He didn't want this for his friend, to suffer the same fate as Tadashi and his aunt. But he mustn't let sorrow interfere with his will to continue. '_ Maybe the others made it out okay _.' Hiro stepped forward and brought the sobbing boy into an embrace, rubbing circles on the other's back to calm him down._

" _Tell me your name." Hiro said softly._

" _A-Ash." The boy chocked out, calming down and wiping the tears from his eyes._

" _Okay, Ash. You want to look for other survivors with me?"_

" _S-Sure."_

* * *

 _With Ash's hand in his, Hiro searched for any sign of life. However, with every step he took, the indigo armoured boy felt his hope shake with uncertainty. When they made it to what was left of the city, they maneuvered around the rubble and buildings. The place reeked of smoke and crushed stone. It was burnt, dirty and grey. It looked like something from those colourless photos they showed in history class, only with a lot less people. It was a lonely sight. San Fransokyo was dead. Hiro started to feel his hope being poisoned in the agony of reality._

 _When they reached the upper area of the former city, the prodigy noticed that the buildings in this area were broken differently from the rest, like a huge explosion had occurred and it spread far. In the center, Hiro found something that would spread the poison of anguish to his soul._

 _Looking down as he let go of Ash's hand and jumped off a much displaced piece of concrete, Hiro found a familiar shape under it. As he brushed off the dust, his heart broke. It was Honey Lemon's periodic panel, the satchel nowhere to be found. While broken and burned, there were obvious unnatural scorch marks._

 _In the mind's eye, Hiro saw Honey Lemon running through the streets when getting caught by the cloud and the satchel sparks before exploding, enveloping her in death. Hiro shook the image away, tears flowing down his dirt covered cheeks. In his painful crying, images of the honey blonde's energetic, sweet, bright personality came to him, remembering how she stayed by his side and became his friend. He choked in his sob._

 _Memories of Tadashi, Aunt Cass and Wasabi started cascading down on his mind as well. So many people were dying around him and he didn't know how much more he could take._

'No more! No more! NO MORE! _'_

 _Suddenly, Hiro felt a hand wipe away one of his tears. The prodigy's eyes widened in awakening, remembering the person beside him. Ash was looking at him in concern and sympathy. Hiro offered the spiky haired boy a small smile for reassurance._

" _Sorry. I'm okay now." Ash's frown deepened in doubt, making Hiro uncomfortable and walk ahead. "Come on, let's keep going."_

* * *

 _They had reached downtown San Fransokyo. There was more collapsed buildings than before and still not a soul in sight. There was so much rubble that you couldn't even see the pavement. As a result, Ash and Hiro were getting used to jumping and maneuvering around wreckage and broken concrete. Having lasted so long, the silence between them had become awkward now. Hiro's thoughts still lingered on his dead friends and family, so he was in no mood for small talk. Besides, what could you talk about in this situation? Hiro looked back at Ash, who was falling behind. The indigo armoured boy was about to call out until they heard a surprised yelp and the sounds of rolling rocks._

" _Someone's there!" Ash exclaimed, and started heading in the mysterious voice's direction._

" _Ash! Wait for me!" Hiro called out, trying to catch up._

 _However, in the rush, Hiro stepped on a poor surface of broken building and his leg fell deep into the pile. The prodigy squeaked in shock. As his mind regained its bearings, he noticed that his companion was out of sight and looked down to see that nearly his whole leg was under debris. When his trapped leg couldn't get out, he groaned and blew his bangs out of his face._

" _Just great. I have the luck of a thousand broken mirrors."_

 _Hiro started removing bricks, quickly trying to dig himself out so he could get back to Ash. However, when he reached his knee and decided to test his mobility, he felt himself lightly kick something soft, something definitely not rock. His eyes narrowed and continued to dig with a tightened chest. When he removed the stone that was keeping his foot tied and finally freed himself, Hiro saw a familiar yellow clad arm wrapped protectively around a burned comic book shirt. With a trembling hand, he touched the unmoving limbs, caressing them in an attempt to get them to react._

" _Gogo? Fred? Please?" Hiro whispered in a shaky voice._

 _But there was no answer, no reaction._

 _What was left of Hiro's world was all but gone now, broken and burned into oblivion. Nothing was right anymore. He fell to his knees. His body wouldn't move. His heart seemed to stop. His mind had no thoughts. His soul seemed to be sealed away. His voice was silent. His eyesight seemed to fail as it became blurry, backgrounds becoming unidentifiable._

 _He felt so void._

 _However, his sense of hearing hadn't failed yet, picking up the sounds of careful footsteps approaching him. The sounds compelled Hiro to turn his head and stare emotionlessly towards a familiar intimidating figure. Seishin was standing over Hiro. He raised a quizzical eyebrow at Hiro's outfit, but didn't comment on it to glance at what was behind the indigo clad boy, searching for the cause of the boy's empty expression. Seeing the visible bodies, he looked back at Hiro with hard eyes._

" _Would you like to go back? Would you like to change fate? Would you like to see them again?" Seishin asked in his deep voice, extending his hand for Hiro's._

 _The prodigy stared blankly at it, the wind blowing dust into the taller man's white coat tails and Hiro's black hair. Twinges of thought and emotion were felt in his unmoving body and, as if being lifted slowly by sharp string, his hand moved, gently reaching for the man and the offer he used to be so scared of. When their fingers were about to touch, Seishin let out a wicked and dark smile._

 _Suddenly, a voice interrupted them._

" _Hey!"_

 _Hiro's hand twitched to a stop and he turned to a man with dishevelled brown hair. Ash was standing beside this man, his hand in a fist and staring at Seishin. They looked mad, defensive. The newcomer moved between Hiro and Seishin, standing in front of the smaller boy protectively. Hiro's hand fell to his side limply, staring at the strong back in front of him. He suddenly felt…safe, a warm secure feeling bringing him back to life. He blinked away the blurriness, returning to some form of awareness. Ash bent down to Hiro's level._

" _Hiro! Are you okay?" the younger asked worriedly._

 _Hiro wasn't sure how to answer, blinking in bewilderment and merely looked back at the tall brunet. Ash didn't like the lack of response and decided to get Hiro off the ground. Seishin's eyes trailed Hiro's movements like a predator, but the click of a gun was heard and everyone turned their attention back to the brunet._

" _I don't like that look in your eyes." the man hissed._

" _Go away. This has nothing to do with you." Seishin growled back._

" _The enemy of my friend's friend is also my enemy."_

" _That's good logic." Ash pointed out. Seishin scoffed._

" _Urgh, what does any of that matter?! Get out of my way!"_

 _In that moment, something clicked and Hiro's mind went haywire. His heart and soul burned with rage. He gritted his teeth and his blood boiled._

" _It's your fault." he muttered, grasping his black armour plate angrily. The others looked at him confusedly. Seishin, however, narrowed his eyes. "You tested your time machine, didn't you?! I told you it's too dangerous!"_

" _And I believe I said: what does any of that matter? All this is a small price."_

" _This is not a small price!" Hiro yelled back, gesturing to the debris around him. "You've destroyed everything."_

 _At those words, the brunet and Ash glared at Seishin._

" _What?!"_

" _You did this?!" The brunet was about to shoot the man in the white coat, but Seishin's instincts were faster and he knocked the gun out of his opponent's hand and kicked him into the debris._

" _Sam!" Ash cried out. The black haired boy ran to Sam's aid. Hiro was about to help as well, but Seishin grabbed his wrist, making the boy jerk back in his movements. The prodigy was about to yell angrily, but what happened next surprised him into speechlessness. Seishin bent down on one knee to get at eye level and caressed Hiro's caught hand, eyes pleading. For a second, Hiro thought the man was going to purpose. Sam and Ash were bewildered by the scene, minds trying to figure this confusing situation out._

" _Please, help me complete the time machine!" Hiro snapped out of the shock and started to struggle._

" _I'm not going to do that!"_

" _I need to save my brother!" Hiro blinked, freezing in place and turning back to Seishin's gaze._

" _W-What?"_

 _Seishin looked down, his platinum blond bangs covering his eyes. "We had a fight. I was a workaholic researcher at the time, so I didn't even know he had enlisted into the army!" He shook his head and looked Hiro in the eyes. "Please! I need your help! You and me are the only ones smart enough to do this!"_

 _Hiro looked at Seishin uncertainly. Such a simple, relatable reason. It brought a sense of humanity to the man and the teenager felt his resolve soften. Though mind reeling, Hiro felt the answer in his throat again._

"When are you going to do something with that big brain of yours? _"_

" _-_ help so many people _."_

 _The prodigy closed his eyes solemnly, his face twisted into a different resolve. "…I understand why you would want that. I lost my brother too. He was smart, mature, and encouraged me to be a better person." Seishin's eyes lit up from their dead selves, believing that admitting his vulnerable side had helped, but Hiro wasn't done. "But, no. I won't help you."_

" _Why not?!" Seishin yelled, gripping Hiro's hand tighter to the point of making the boy grimace._

" _B-Because it's not right! It's not healthy! This attitude, these morals, this obsession-!"_

" _Is justified! We can turn back time and it'll be like it never happened!"_

" _No! It did happen! And nothing can justify ripping the universe apart or killing so many innocent people!" Hiro yelled loudly, wishing Seishin would get his point and just end all of this. He just wanted the man to stop hurting both others and himself._

 _The problem, however, is that wishes rarely come true._

 _Seishin roared in a deep voice and stood up, harshly holding Hiro's lithe body into the air. The prodigy cried in pain, worried that his arm was going to be ripped off._

" _No! You_ will _help me!"_

 _A second later, a body slammed into Seishin, making him let go of Hiro and crash into destroyed stone._

" _Didn't you hear him?! He said no!" Sam yelled. Seishin just growled and lunged for the brunet. Sam grabbed the man's punch, holding his opponent back as much as he could and kicked Seishin away. The brunet then took this chance to tackle the delusional villain. He straddled the man, trying to trap the other, but Seishin managed to flip their positions. The mad scientist was about to strangle his number one nuisance, but a gunshot nearly hit him and the two fighters turned to see Ash standing protectively in front of the fallen Hiro and pointing Sam's gun at Seishin. Hiro stared at the ten year old, surprised that Ash had the courage to pull the trigger. The spiky black haired boy shot at Seishin two more times, forcing the villain to get off Sam and make a retreat, deciding three with a gun against one was too dangerous. When Seishin was gone, disappearing behind a building, Hiro stood up and Ash ran to help Sam get on his feet._

" _Thanks. Though you're a terrible shot." Sam said, laughing to himself a bit._

" _You're welcome." Ash replied dryly. With that, they turned to their damsel in distress._

" _Are you okay?" the brunet asked._

" _Yes, thank you for helping me." Hiro replied with a grateful glint. He turned back to where Seishin had escaped. "I'm upset we couldn't stop him though…"_

 _The brunet uncomfortably looked around and scratched the back of his head. "Sooo, care to explain what that was about?"_

* * *

"With the world in ruin, and no power left to fight Seishin, I turned my focus on what was left of humanity. I started by trying to rebuild Baymax, but the data was nearly gone, only certain precious memories remaining..." Hiro said, twirling his black memory disk with a distant look before gripping it. "I tried to find a new angle. Every now and then, the white wave would hit, so I invented force fields so that there was a limit to the damage Seishin's experiments would inflict and keep that thing out. But I couldn't protect everyone. Thankfully, there were other people like me who found ways to lead and protect others. I became friends with these people."

The prodigy looked up, wandering to memories long passed for a moment before continuing. "Eventually, we combined and my force field city had to become a huge dome that could support a good number of the human race. For four years, things were peaceful…ish. The people were terrified that one day the field would break. They seemed to get stronger every time too. Soon, I had the materials to be a superhero again. I remade everyone's gear and I decided it was finally time to confront Seishin…"

"H-How did it go?" Tadashi asked, he and the others completely enthralled with the story. Hiro brought his head down and closed his eyes, picturing the memory with his mind's eye.

"I tried to reason with him. But he didn't want to listen to me. We fought and just I thought I had him, he shot the time machine's source with a plasma gun. We were engulfed in white and when I woke up, I was here, in this timeline, in this place, back with you guys." Hiro looked up at them with a smile, not bothered with the result of things.

"Are you worried about your world?" At Wasabi's concern, the young prodigy thought to himself, leaning into Baymax with a considerate look.

"I…don't think there's a world to worry about anymore."

Gogo had a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that…if the tests of the time machine resulted in destroying whole ecosystems, then I doubt there is even a planet anymore when it actually works." Hiro replied, turning to her.

"W-What if they too were sent back in time?" Honey Lemon said, trying to be optimistic. Hiro shook his head.

"No. Only things within a few feet of the time machine are safe. Once the energy it lets off reaches a certain distance, it becomes unstable and there is a _lot_ of it. Destruction tends to follow after that, likely a hundred times worse when it actually works."

Fred scratched his head with a solemn look. "Wow…that's rough…"

The prodigy ran a hand through his hair. While his headache was now gone, it had been replaced with a pained heart, dwelling on all the people he had sworn to protect. Hiro had really cared for them. They saved him in his depression and gave him the motivation to keep going. He hoped he was wrong and they were okay…No, it was best not to hold onto that hope. Dead or alive, he couldn't go back, mustn't go back. He was with Tadashi and the others again. That was all he needed. The past must remain the past. He let out a deep breath and looked out the window. It was night, a quarter-moon shining brightly. The sky looked like it was gleefully smiling at him. ' _Damn you, moon. Stop mocking me!_ '

"I'm tired now. Can we continue this another time?"

"Sure, but we have school tomorrow." Tadashi remarked, eyes trailing as Hiro stood up.

"That's fine. Come see me when you're ready."

Gogo stretched and let out a yawn in agreement. The motion seemed to spread and everyone yawned after her. Suddenly feeling drowsy, the rest of the group got out of their seats and stretched too. They had been sitting for too long and now they were incredibly stiff and tired. Gogo headed towards the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow then. Later." she said and disappeared into the hallway on her maglev disks.

"Yaaawn, good night, everyone…" Honey Lemon said as she followed after the other with Wasabi. Hiro waved goodbye at them tiredly. The bandana wearer waved back at him.

"Thanks for the most horrible bed time story ever, Hiro."

"You're welcome!" Hiro chirped and sat on the bed. Fred and Tadashi raised a brow when the prodigy started making himself comfortable, rolling in the soft, silky sheets.

"Uhh, Hiro, shouldn't we be getting to Aunt Cass?" Tadashi asked. However, his only response was a light snore, sleep allowing Hiro to completely avoid the question. The remaining three blinked. ' _That was fast_ …' Tadashi thought to himself. He rubbed the back of his head. ' _Now what?_ '

"Well, looks like I'm sleeping in a guest room tonight." Fred commented softly, putting his hands at the back of his head. Tadashi turned to him with an apologetic look.

"Are you sure that's alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine!" The brunet gave a thumb's up and grinned. "Besides, he looks really tired and I'd hate to disturb him."

"Also, considering Hiro's injuries, it is best not to move him around too much. He is already moving more than he should. Letting him sleep here would be the best option." Baymax added.

Tadashi took the information and felt his side of the conversation become mute. He sat on the bed and placed his hand in his little brother's locks, running his fingers through them. The prodigy leaned into his brother's hand before snuggling further into the blankets. ' _You've gone through so much. You deserve more than all this trouble…_ ' Tadashi let out a small smile and closed his eyes in content, getting off the bed.

"Alright, I'll leave him in your hands, Fred, Baymax."

"I'll take good care of him!" Tadashi smiled in gratification and turned to the healthcare robot.

"I'll take care of Hiro until my battery starts to run out. Then I'll head home."

The creator blinked at the thoughtfulness of his robot, but accepted it nonetheless, too tired to think about it further. He headed towards the doors. When he was one step out, he looked back to glace at his cutely sleeping little brother. Fred left the room as well and closed the doors, taking his friend's hand and leading him out of the mansion.

' _It'll be okay, Hiro. I'll protect you_. _I'll protect everyone._ '

* * *

When Tadashi's alarm went off, he grumbled, not feeling ready to start the day at all. But responsibility compelled him to wake up. He had lost out on a lot of school already. It would be a bad idea to miss anymore. He would probably end up failing his classes. Yawning with eyes in a daze, he changed from his pyjamas to his usual attire, vaguely registering his suit on the floor. He was moving slowly, almost turtle like, so by the time he was ready, he was already running late. Now he was awake, gasping in surprise. He grabbed his bag and flew down the stairs, heading for the doors.

"Bye, Aunt Cass!"

"You're going to school?" Tadashi stopped to look at his aunt, a few customers turning their heads before going back to whatever they were doing. The memory of Hiro's words came to him and he flinched at the idea of his loving aunt dying. He tried to ignore the thoughts so he wouldn't worry her.

"Yeah, I just…think it's time to go back." She looked relieved.

"Oh, good! I was worried about you. I haven't seen you in a while so-" Tadashi face-palmed. He had completely forgotten to tell her he would be out.

"Argh, I'm sorry. My friends have been trying to get me back out there. They practically took me all around San Fransokyo and I forgot to tell you." Tadashi said as an excuse, muttering the last part. She seemed to buy it and gave him a hug.

"Try to do better next time." Aunt Cass broke the hug to look him in the eye. "Tell me all about your day tonight. I'll make wings!" Tadashi smiled at her.

"Okay, I will." The college student reached for the knob, but was pulled back into his caretaker's embrace.

"Last hug!" she said, and quickly broke it so he could get to school. "See you tonight!"

"See you!"

* * *

Tadashi stepped into the lecture classroom, already feeling exhausted from running. It was only quarter to ten and the college student already wanted to fall asleep. He looked at the rows of seats and spotted Wasabi and Gogo in the middle of the second row. They didn't seem to be in any better condition than him. He went up to them and took a seat next to the bandana wearer.

"Good morning." Tadashi greeted tiredly. "I take it you guys didn't get enough sleep either."

"I couldn't stop thinking about what Hiro said. It's absolutely horrifying. You, us, an entire world, just thinking about it makes my head spin." Wasabi replied, yawning and arranging his stuff into their proper positions. Tadashi put his bag on the desk and took his notebook out.

"Same here."

"Argh, I can't wait until class is over. Then I can take a nap." Gogo said, moving one of Wasabi's pencils out of its symmetrical position. The bandana wearer yelled in annoyance at the action and put the pencil back. She had a grin on her face, though her eyes still held a tired stare. Tadashi let out a little smile too and sat down, ready for the lecture. The teacher moved to the chalkboard, ready to begin the lesson.

"Okay, everyone-"

Suddenly, the doors to the classroom slammed open, making everyone in the room turn to a short male. Tadashi raised a brow. This person had black capris and a ruby dress shirt that wasn't even completely done up, revealing a bit of perfect skin as it clung to his figure and making half the girls and a few boys let out a love sigh. A black hoodie with drooping rabbit ears covered his head, the insides and under the ears having a dark blue, interesting pattern. He looked like a total bad boy with all that black, yet the hoodie's shape made it cute.

' _Cool or cute, you can't pick both_.'

"W-Who are you?!" the professor asked.

"I'm your new student!" Tadashi, Gogo and Wasabi raised a brow, tilting their heads. That voice sounded familiar. The newcomer reached up and removed the hood, revealing a very familiar mop of hair and letting the rabbit ears touch the back of his knees. The three gawked, suddenly feeling very awake.

"No way."

The boy turned to the class, revealing his mysterious and playful smile.

"Hello! My name is Hiroshi Hamada and I'm Tadashi's younger twin brother! Nice to meet you!"

' _H-Hiro?!_ '


	16. Chapter 16: Identity

**Chapter 16: Identity**

Tadashi wasn't sure what to make of this. Hiro was in his class, claiming to be a new student. Hiro was wearing new clothes and, with that adorable face, they made him look cool and cute at the same time. Hiro had cut his hair back to the way it was when he was fourteen, ruffled yet sleek and giving a better view of those brown orbs. Hiro was wearing light Helvetica glasses…an adorable dork. Hiro was claiming to be his younger twin brother…As much as that made a pleasant feeling spread through his heart, Tadashi still felt incredibly confused. ' _Just what is going on?! That disguise may work on others, but it definitely isn't going to work on me! What are you thinking?!_ '

Hiro looked around the room. There were a variety of expressions. Some were blushing, others had raised brows, but none of them seemed to recognise him, which he was thankful for. The hoodie wearer didn't want to focus on those people, however. In fact, they made him feel a little nervous and shy, a vestige from his younger years. It made him hunch over a little and caress his hand against his chest, turning away with a nervous expression that made some girls go 'aww' and some boys blush harder.

Hiro turned to Tadashi and felt his confidence return upon seeing the elder brother's expression. He smirked and adjusted his glasses. The shocked expression on his brother's face was priceless. When he had come up with this idea, he had no idea it could be so much fun! Finding his boldness completely restored, he started walking, the students turning their heads to trail his form as he took a seat next to Tadashi, who was still staring with wide eyes, unable to form words. The younger decided to ignore everyone and just smiled brightly. That flair for causing trouble was still in his bones. The class was mumbling, some happily, some confusedly. The teacher, seeing that the session was rattled, decided to take control again and put it back on track.

"O-Okay, everyone. That's enough chatting. Today, we are going to talk about…"

And with that, the class began. The second the professor started explaining and putting diagrams on the board, students started taking notes. The professor made an effort to not stop talking, afraid that if he did then he would lose the class again. However, the professor's efforts didn't stop some of the students from glancing at the Hamada brothers. Eventually, responsibility and respect dwindled. Whispers started to form, making the instructor shake irritably and grit his teeth as he tried to continue the lesson.

Unlike everyone else, Tadashi's group was taking notes with vigilance. As the older brother took notes on what the teacher was saying, he took a moment to look at his younger brother. He thought Hiro was paying attention at first, a momentary pride taking form, but upon closer look at those notes, Tadashi noticed they had nothing to do with the lesson. Actually, he had no idea what his little brother was drawing, not even the little notes in the corners provided much clue to Hiro's mind. He frowned. ' _What is all that?_ '

"Tadashi, could you focus, please?" the professor asked, frustration reaching its limits. The black haired male straightened in his seat, looking back at the teacher with wide eyes. Hiro glanced in his brother's direction and shrugged before going back to his 'notes.'

"A-Ah, yes, Professor." Tadashi replied, a light blush at being called out.

The twinge of pink made some of the girls giggle to themselves and the whispers became disrespectfully loud, but not enough for people to understand what they were saying. They were incoherent until one of them said much more loudly:

"Hihi, Tadashi is just the greatest! He's so polite and charming~"

All of a sudden, hell broke loose from heaven's restraints.

"Pah! No. Tadashi is fine, but I think Hiroshi is definitely better. I bet I would never be bored with him as my boyfriend!" a boy from the other side of the classroom yelled.

"Love shouldn't be about entertainment. It's better to be practical and choose someone you know doesn't have the potential of becoming a major headache." another boy yelled back.

"But just look at that adorable face~!"

Tadashi wasn't sure how to respond to that girl's comment, but noticed some of the boys and girls were nodding their heads. He glared at one boy in particular, who was staring at Hiro with an evil (in Tadashi's opinion) glint in his eyes and a big smile that curved over the left cheek. Tadashi growled and moved closer to his brother possessively. Gogo and Wasabi face palmed at the overprotective brother and the failing level-headedness of the classroom.

"That cuteness won't last. It's better to get a good man-!"

"Hiroshi is not just cute! He's clearly a bad boy as well! Those brooding and yet cute clothes are clearly signs that he doesn't follow the rules because he believes the system is broken. He won't fall for the ideas society believes he should be! That's so hot~" Tadashi raised an eyebrow at that and turned to his brother, who was acting rather indifferent aside from the light blush on his cheeks, listening yet choosing to focus on something else.

"Stop it! Bad boys aren't hot! If anything, it's a sign of trouble!"

' _Well, that's both right and wrong. Good grief this argument is too black and white_.' Hiro thought to himself, stretching in his chair before trying to get back to work.

"That's mean! Don't generalize an entire group of people like they're the same stereotypical person!" By this point, some of the more neutral students were starting to feel uncomfortable and decided to leave, predicting that this fight was only going to get worse. And they were right!

"Don't try to make this political just because you're losing! Good guys are the best! Like Tadashi! At least he has a good, and not so confusing, sense of fashion!"

"You're the ones who are losing! Hiro is better! Bad boys, bad boys, bad boys!"

"Good boys, good boys, good boys!"

"Hiroshi! Hiroshi! Hiroshi!"

"Tadashi! Tadashi! Tadashi!"

Having lost complete control of his class because of Tadashi and Hiroshi fans, the professor ran out of his classroom, crying, heading towards the dean of the engineering and physics departments in sobbing distress. At the loud chants, Hiro finally stood up turned away from his blueprints to watch with a great view as the class split into two teams, throwing things at each other in a rather odd battle.

"Well, class is ruined." Wasabi muttered. Hiro laughed.

"Haha, didn't see this coming!"

"You're overly happy." Gogo pointed out.

"Well, it's not every day you get a do over with your favourite big brother!" Hiro latched onto Tadashi's arm with a big smile on his face. The sight made some of the students go 'aww' again and start using it to make their point, the argument getting louder.

"Hiro, what are you even doing here?!" Tadashi asked, yelling so he could at least be slightly heard. Hiro scoffed.

"Staying in the mansion is so boring, Tadashi. Besides, if something happens, and it usually does, I should be there. Going to school is only practical." Hiro said, beaming brightly. However, that cute look wasn't going to work on Tadashi.

"Those are dumb and yet smart reasons, Hiro."

"It's Hiroshi, at the moment." the space-time traveler corrected. Gogo rolled her eyes at the response before looking the boy over, popping her bubble gum.

"Nice get up, by the way. I approve."

"Thank you! Fred had them made for me!" The group decided to pass that curious statement for more important questions.

"But shouldn't you be resting? Bruised ribs hurt when strained." Tadashi asked worriedly.

"How did you even register? Hiroshi Hamada doesn't exist, so there's no ID." Wasabi pointed out. A dark aura suddenly took form around the younger Hamada as he brought his hood up, a devilish smile appearing and eyes looking up from underneath dark bangs.

"That's a secret~"

The three heroes shuddered, but were broken away from their fear when they took notice of the argument outside their conversation.

"Oh yeah! Well, just look at him and tell me if you still believe that's true!"

Both sides of the argument turned to the brothers. Hiro and Tadashi looked up at them upon noticing that the attention was now on them. The class gasped, looking at the straight posture of Tadashi in his cardigan sweater and the relaxed stature of the bunny hoodie wearer, captivated by those two pairs of curious and captivating brown eyes. Tadashi tilted his head while Hiro smirked with playful eyes.

Everyone let out a tiny love sigh.

"L-Let's just agree they're both great…"

"Yeah~"

Wasabi blinked incredulously. "What the hell was that?"

Gogo blew a bubble with her gum until it popped. "Insanity."

* * *

When the professor finally calmed down, he said 'If they miss a class, it's their loss,' and went home. Still a little confused and worried, the dean then walked into the lecture room and found everyone crowding around the Hamada brothers. With a commanding presence, he ordered everyone to stop harassing the siblings and told them to go home, thus bringing the early end of 'class.'

When the team of heroes finally escaped the classroom, they went straight to the lab, Tadashi dragging Hiro's oddly dressed figure away from the staring students and teachers, Gogo and Wasabi following behind them. Upon entering the lab, they found that Honey Lemon and Fred were already there. The honey blonde's eyes widened at the sight of the younger brother. They moved to Tadashi's office, Hiro finding the sunlight making the nostalgic location particularly pleasant.

"Ah~ It's good to be back!"

"Shouldn't you guys be in class?" Honey Lemon asked. "And, Fred, shouldn't Hiro be at your place?"

"I escaped!" Hiro chirped happily.

"Hiro has apparently decided to become a student." Wasabi clarified exasperatedly, glancing at Fred, clearly putting the blame for his headache on the brunet.

"I was gonna stop him, but he made the good point that all young heroes should go to school with a secret identity!"

"No! No, they don't!" Wasabi yelled.

"Wha-?! Of course they do!" The honey blonde ignored the growing superhero argument, letting out an exasperated sigh, and turned to the new student.

"U-Um, don't strain yourself."

"I won't! I'm having so much fun!" Hiro replied.

"You caused a civil war in our classroom." Tadashi remarked, looking at his brother with a deadpan look.

"Aw, come on! Admit it, that was amusing!"

"Argh, unbelievable! It wasn't amusing to me, knucklehead!" Tadashi face-palmed, Hiro's beaming smile making him groan.

"Dude, I think the apocalypse has messed up your brother's sense of humour." Wasabi whispered to Tadashi.

"Wait, you mean he's not being sarcastic?"

"I thought he was always like that. Wherever our little Hiro goes, trouble follows. Didn't he like messing with bot-fighters?" Gogo added teasingly.

At that, Hiro cleared his throat loudly, getting everyone to turn to him and holding back a feeling of embarrassment. "A-Anyway, I do believe we still have stuff to talk about." Everyone raised a brow at Hiro's forced attempt to change the subject and the prodigy groaned in response. "Just sit down!"

Hiro started pushing people into different places in the room, forcing them to take a seat before crossing his arms and plunking onto the windowsill like a child. His eyes were closed with a pouting face. Tadashi rolled his eyes and chuckled a little at his cute baby brother, leaning into his movable chair. Suddenly, black slapped him in the face. While soft, the force was enough to change his face from amusement to confusion.

"Stop looking so smug!" Hiro yelled, his bunny eared hoodie returning to its normal position after being whipped like a weapon.

"Seriously, Hiro! That's not the purpose of a sweater!"

"It is with this one! Now stop acting like an idiot. I'm trying to figure out how to start."

Tadashi grunted and adjusted himself in his seat, grumbling at Hiro as he made himself comfortable. The group watched as Hiro's face expressed his frustration. It was soon replaced with a look of sadness, words coming to him, but not optimistic ones, just words that had something distressing to say.

"When I first came to this world, I thought I had simply travelled through time. The idea of making things easier on my past-self seemed too good to pass up, so I went to the warehouse to confront Callaghan. But when I saw Tadashi at the warehouse instead of my younger self, I knew that something wasn't quite right. I-I'll be honest, I freaked out and rushed to find an online newspaper…"

"…"

"…"

"You're the one that broke the library computers, aren't you?"

"I didn't mean to and I am very sorry, so please don't tell anyone!" Hiro looked away with a blush. It was cute. The group giggled a little bit, Hiro's blush darkening. He looked back at them with a pout. Annoyed by his friends and brother's expressions, the younger brother groaned and then turned to the window, looking to somewhere in the distance as his bangs waved with the abrupt movement. His glasses reflected the sun and clouds in the sky. His gaze seemed to bring a memory to him when he looked in a certain direction and his brown eyes went soft with sadness. The group shifted uncomfortably at the gloomy look.

"…In this world…I'm the one who's dead." Hiro's audience looked down sorrowfully, painful memories coming to their minds and hurting their hearts. The prodigy turned back to them sadly and removed his glasses. "I was so distraught that my power activated and I busted the computers. I know what you guys are feeling. I went through it with Tadashi's death."

"So I really am dead…"

"…" Hiro went quiet, eyes shut from the world to enter another. The group could practically feel the space-time traveler thinking with wisdom and despair. It made them reflect on their own tragedies, of Hiro's death. It had been a sad few months and Tadashi in particular didn't handle it very well. They never wanted to feel like that again, unable to help a friend, to save a brother. It was just too much. And lord knows what Hiro was going through. The feelings felt in reach, yet too far from their grasp. They broke from their bubbles when Hiro started to speak again.

"To see you alive and well again, with memories of what could have been, it brought torture to me. I wasn't sure how I should act, what I should say. But the idea of preventing was too tempting to me. What if I could let everyone live peaceful lives and not let you get dragged into my antics? It was always something I felt guilty about, so I tried to exclude you. I fought Callaghan, I warned you, I protected you, but you guys pressed on, you continued down the path of well-intentioned hell…"

Tadashi gritted his teeth. Everything Hiro did was for someone else. It was very different compared to how he was when he was fourteen. Now older, the younger brother had changed so much, more mature, wiser. But what was he getting at? What was this Hiro trying to say? Whatever it was, it made the older brother swallow a lump in his throat out of anticipation.

"So I have an important question." The group's head perked at Hiro, who looked to his audience with a serious look on his face. "With everything I've told you, of your deaths, of the future, of what you'll be up against, do you still want to be Big Hero 6?"

* * *

The sky shone dimly with its quarter moon. The stars were few and far between over the city and its flashy lights. The forest was strangely quiet, no bird or frogs chirping their songs and no squirrels causing bushes to rustle. It was not a good night. Strong footsteps suddenly crushed fallen branches and leaves as they maneuvered down the slanted land.

The earth ripped, tearing a large tree from its spot and throwing it out of the way of a tall figure. He walked over the now bear soil that molded into a smooth path just for him. He looked into the distance, staring at the city that had come into view. He smirked, absolutely pleased.

' _I've_ finally _reached civilization_.' The figure looked down at his hands and his smirk became malicious. ' _And I seem to be getting used to my new powers_ …'

He looked back up. ' _I wonder if_ he _is here too_.'

* * *

 **Hiro: 'Hiroshi' means 'tolerant and generous!'**

 **Tadashi: That name really doesn't suit you, Hiro.**

 **Hiro: My real name means 'widespread or broad.' In what way is that any better?**

 **Tadashi: It suits you perfectly. You have a broad and widespread array of wisdom, luck and ridiculousness.**

 **Hiro: Hmph! At least I have variety! Yours only means 'righteous!' Good grief, our parents were practically demanding that you be good and nothing else!**

 **Tadashi: That's not a bad thing, Hiro. I'm serious though. Our parents gave us some pretty good names, so don't flaunt your fake one like it's the best.**

 **Hiro: Urgh, fine. All I did was add 'shi' at the end to make it sound cool.**

 **Tadashi: 'Death' isn't cool! If anything it brings up bad memories!**

 **Hiro: Sigh, some people just can't take a joke.**

 **Tadashi: That's because it's not a very good joke.**

 **Hiro: Shut up.**


	17. Chapter 17: Training

**Chapter 17: Training**

"What are you saying?! Of course we do!" Fred exclaimed, the group nodding in agreement.

Hiro blinked solemnly at the quick answer, bothered by the lack of thought. As he shook his head, everyone frowned. "As happy as I am by that answer, you need to think carefully. I need to know you guys are absolutely sure. You could die, whether it's by fire, rocks or explosions. Heck, it could even be me! I have no control of my powers!"

Hiro was screaming with fear by the end, eyes portraying his distress at the things that could go wrong. The group of friends' enthusiasm dimmed with every word. Wasabi and Honey Lemon looked particularly uncomfortable. This did not go unnoticed by the time-traveler and he lowered his gaze sorrowfully in response. Everyone looked to each other nervously and turned back to the youngest. Gogo approached the time-traveller.

"Hiro, we understand. You're scared and blame yourself for many things, but we have faith in you. You're a genius, which means you'll master that power in no time and until then, we promise we won't do anything rash and get killed, okay?" Gogo said. She stopped right in front of the boy and flicked his head lightly, earning a frown. "So woman up and stop trying to talk us out of it. We want to help. You don't need to push us away."

With that, Gogo gave Hiro a warm embrace. Then, one by one, everyone else came and joined in the hug, Tadashi making his arms tighten around his sweet brother from behind, petting the younger's dark locks. As everyone settled into this mountain of warmth and comradery, Hiro blinked before letting out a tiny smile. He missed this, being with them. He let out a pleased and content chuckle, snuggling.

"Okay, okay. I get it. Your resolve is coming in loud and clear, guys." Once they went way passed the normal number of hug Mississippis, Hiro nudged to be released. Once free, he lifted his head and put his glasses back on, showing everyone his bright smile. "Come on. We have stuff to do." Hiro walked towards the entrance to lead the way, but upon opening the door, his hand twitched his body to a stop. Not removing his hand, Hiro turned the comic book lover. "Oh, and Fred," At his name, the brunet jumped in excitement, unable to control his excited energy of anticipation, expecting something special. Hiro gave him a smirk that screamed ulterior motive. "Why don't you go home and check out that family portrait of yours. I think you'll find something veeery interesting."

* * *

Fred stared. He wasn't completely sure what he should be doing. Upon hearing Hiro's suggestion, he rushed home to the family painting, not even turning back to say goodbye, but maybe he shouldn't have left so fast because now he didn't have the faintest idea of what to do next. The brunet scratched the back of his head uncomfortably and with a blush of embarrassment, turning left to right on his feet for no reason. He laughed nervously.

"Haha, I got a little too excited again. Silly me!" Fred said to the painting. Noting that he was talking to a lifeless object, he fidgeted in place for a moment and bit his lip. The brunet turned left to right again to see if someone was coming or listening. There wasn't. Looking up at the people in the picture, the brunet concluded that there must be something about the painting that Hiro wanted him to investigate…

Fred stared and sighed, opening his mouth as if looking for words. Pictures were always something personal to the brunet. Each canvas brought something to his soul. The paintings decorating the walls taught him to appreciate all kinds of history and beauty, no matter how strange, giving them a voice. In comic books, the art would bring him into different worlds, different experiences, and that gave those simple books a special place in his heart. They gave him role models and stirred thoughts and imagination. They taught him about friendship, to support others and to always do the right thing. He always wanted someone to share these special elements with, and he has found them. That dream had come true. However, while most forms of art gave him aesthetic joy, nowadays, when it came to the family portrait, things became a little gloomier, lonelier. The brunet's mouth turned from agape into a thin line as he gulped down a lump in his throat.

"…Dad, I just wish I could share my accomplishments with you." Fred approached the portrait. "You mean so much to me, and honestly, I've always felt a distance, what with you being on the family island all the time, and I just wish you could see how..." When his hand touched the painting, the wall opened like a loose door, slowly giving Fred access to the room inside. He took a hesitant peek and his eyes widened. The place was surrounded by objects that seemed to come straight out of a comic book. To the right, superhero outfits were hung up, a comfort in a strange few minutes. To the left, some really cool looking weapons sat, waiting to be used and emphasizing the brunet's curiosity. Fred walked inside, hands to his chest as he looked around wearily with a frown. His eyes spotted primary coloured underwear and he picked it up to inspect. His brown eyes narrowed, trying to figure all this out.

"Fred." At his name, the brunet cringed and turned to the entryway. Standing with a suitcase by his side was his father. When he stepped out of the hallway light, Fred could see the blue tux and tinted, golden glasses. The brunet looked to the white streaks in those black locks and the wrinkles on his father's face, counting. According to his calculations, nothing had changed. His father was still the same as the day he left for the island. "Son."

The man's voice was filled with strength and determination. Fred was taken aback by it for a second, used to the comforting fatherly tone the older man usually had, and it left him uncertain again.

"Dad?" he called out hesitantly, asking the man to continue. After what felt like a slow moment, his father took another pair underpants from behind Fred and held them up. The brunet waited, not knowing what was going to happen. When something did, Fred would never see his father the same way ever again.

"I wear 'em front, I wear 'em back." His father started with a grin, moving his hands to his words. Fred felt joy and pride take over his mind and body.

"I go inside out, then I go front and back." they said together. Fred's face lit up with every word, uncertainty and feeling of distance dissolving.

"Dad!" Fred called before he took his beloved father into a strong embrace. The older man returned the hug and patted the brunet's shoulder.

"We have a lot to talk about!"

* * *

Hiro opened the garage door quietly, trying to not draw attention, and quickly maneuvered to sit in a chair. He went up to a computer and plugged his black memory stick into it. He then started rummaging through the various folders, blocking out all distractions. The others, being one of the potential distractions, followed after, putting their bags on the floor. They then surrounded Hiro, watching as he quickly moved from one folder to the next, pulling up files so fast that they couldn't read any of them.

"All right, guys! Let's start with Honey Lemon's bag."

"Oh yeah, you sacrificed it to make that huge attack." Wasabi said, turning to the honey blonde. She scratched the back of her head meekly.

"To be honest, I actually kind of miss it!" Honey Lemon said. "Sorry, Hiro, I used your pouch to make it and I blew it up."

"It's fine. I don't plan on using your tech anymore anyway. They were made for you, not me. I was just borrowing them to fight Seishin and Callaghan."

"Still, that's something from your world. Isn't it-?"

"No, no. It's okay. Besides, I get to make another costume!" Hiro said excitedly. He then pressed print and the 3-D printer started to work. "It's time to look to the future and the stuff I brought is now too beat up to use, so it'd be best to replace it, especially my chest armour. I don't want to get bruised ribs again, after all. " As this was being explained, the prodigy was moving back and forth between the printer and the computer, taking components and putting them together as the chair strode along to the desired destinations. Before long, Honey Lemon had a new purse in her hands. She put it on to test the feel before inspecting it closer, the spectators moving closer to share the investigation. There was one new difference on that heart-shaped periodic table. At the bottom of the heart was a strange, clear button.

"Okay, Honey, I came up with this earlier and I think you'll like it!" Hiro said, gesturing to this new power's button. Honey Lemon held the bag curiously and pressed at the new button. On cue, white and rainbow light started to wrap around her like a veil. The group's eyes widened. Right before their very eyes, Honey Lemon was gone, but they could definitely hear her happy cheers. Hiro smirked triumphantly.

"W-What the?! What just happened?!" Wasabi exclaimed.

"This veil bends light rays with ultra-reflective chemicals to make the user invisible! Pretty cool, right?!" Hiro explained enthusiastically.

"That's awesome!" Tadashi exclaimed, sharing his brother's excitement.

"Way to go." Gogo remarked. Wasabi crossed his arms with a delighted grin.

"That'll be useful. It's like she's a ghost…! Speaking of which, where are you?" The bandanna wearer started turning from side to side. Taking a moment to find the button, Honey Lemon appeared right beside the bandana wearer. He cried out in surprise and backed away from her. They laughed at the silly response from the overly cautious man. Still chuckling, Honey Lemon went up to Hiro and gave him a hug.

"Thanks, Hiro! This is amazing!" Honey Lemon then gave the small boy a kiss on the cheek. Hiro's face exploded into red and his eyes turned dazed, swirling in confusion and embarrassment. He tried placing a hand on his chair for support. He succeeded on his fourth attempt. With a goofy smile, he put hands on his cheeks and looked away, trying to hide his blush. The group stared at the immature reaction judgingly.

' _Oh, Hiro, you look like you're fourteen again. Do you really not have any experience with this?_ ' Tadashi thought, biting the inside of his cheek and staring at his brother pitifully.

Hiro turned his back on them and maneuvered away on his chair back to the computer. "O-Okay, onto Gogo's-"

"Hiro, wait." Gogo said commandingly, suddenly very serious. The prodigy froze in his actions and turned to her with surprised eyes, not expecting to be interrupted.

"W-What is it?"

"Is something wrong?" Wasabi asked, raising a brow.

"I know you're great at this and all, but…I want to work on the upgrade myself."

"Huh?" everyone said together. Gogo sighed and her gaze looked down with a furrowed brow, looking for words to express her feelings.

"My tech is very important to me, and while I'm glad to see it evolve, I feel rather…excluded from it. When Tadashi first came to me and described Black Iris having the same tech as me, even thinking that it might have been stolen, and I saw you on the maglev disks which, not only seemed better, but perfected, I became incredibly upset. My pride wants me to be able to do this on my own, Hiro. So, please, let me do this?"

Hiro stared at her expression, analyzing the reasoning and resolve within, and then the shaking fist at her side. Concluding, he looked down sadly. ' _I suppose I got a little carried away. This tech isn't truly mine to play with as I please and I should have been more considerate of their feelings_ …' The prodigy then noticed Honey Lemon fidget a little bit, no doubt thinking about Gogo's words as well. The taller girl then stood with Gogo. He frowned further and tilted his head.

"Honey Lemon? Do you want to do this too?"

"There is something I want to work on. Kind of came to me during your rant from earlier and I only now remembered."

Hiro nodded. "All right. I promise I won't make any upgrades for you, Gogo, until you ask me. You two work on whatever you need to and we'll protect the city. The four of us can hold the fort until you get back."

While Tadashi's held confusion at the word 'four,' the girls' eyes brightened and they smiled. "We promise to return as soon as possible!"

Gogo then went up to Hiro and gave him another peck on the cheek, getting the exact same reaction Honey Lemon did, except for how he hid behind his bunny ears and was starting to make strange noises. "Pwang-nyaaa…" Whatever that meant. Tadashi sighed.

"Seriously, Gogo?" Wasabi gave the woman a disapproving stare.

"Sorry, it's too amusing. I couldn't resist."

"Aww, he's so cute! I want a little brother like you~" Honey Lemon said with a twinkle in her eye. Tadashi felt a shiver down his spine.

"No. The world can only handle one Hiro." Wasabi remarked.

* * *

A few hours went by and the sun was beginning to set, beautiful yellow and orange turning into violet. Tadashi watched as the light moved further and further out of view. Stretching his neck from its stiff position, the older brother looked back inside. Gogo and Honey Lemon were on their laptops, doing mysterious research that no one was allowed to help with. Wasabi was with Hiro, talking over something that didn't involve Tadashi. All this was why he found himself on the sidelines doing homework. However, now that night was coming and his school work was finished, he decided to approach his brother about a certain topic. As Wasabi moved away from Hiro, the elder brother made his move, getting up from his seat and heading to his little brother.

"So, Hiro?"

"Hm? Wh-?" The younger brother turned to the elder curiously.

Suddenly, the earth shook. It was an earthquake. The group of friends squeaked in shock and covered their heads, Tadashi covering his younger brother and holding onto the chair for support. Objects jumped and moved with the rumbling earth, some falling off shelves and smashing into the hard cement. A minute later, it stopped. They emerged from their arms and looked around, still a bit rattled from fear. Finding nothing wrong, they decided that maybe it was time to head home, getting their stuff into their bags. Emerging from his brother's arms, Hiro removed his memory stick from the computer and put it back on his neck. He turned back to his brother.

"A-Anyway, what were you saying?"

"Oh, I was going to ask when you plan on coming home?"

Hiro's mind went blank for a moment until he realized that Tadashi meant their home rather than the parallel one, his mind catching up with the times. However, Hiro's shocked silence continued even then, thoughts racing in circles with nowhere to go. But the lack of noise made him more nervous and a need to say something was starting to arise. He would rather say nothing, but awkwardness made him go:

"Wh-What are you talking about?"

"When are you going to come home to me and Aunt Cass?" Hiro didn't like any of the words in that sentence, all of it going against some form of logic.

"Y-You're kidding, right?! I can't show myself to Aunt Cass!"

"Why not?!"

"There's no way she'll understand! This is time-travel and parallel universe jumping! Even I don't completely understand it! Also, have you forgotten?! I'm dead in this universe! She'll freak!"

"No, she won't! She's very understanding. I'm sure she-"

"Doesn't need this!" Hiro yelled, placing his hand to his chest and looking away from Tadashi's judging eyes. "Big Hero 6 kept her in the shadows because we didn't want her to worry about us. I've given her enough trouble already with the bot fighting! Remember when we got arrested and the minute we got home, I was already looking for my next fight! That's what is going on here; an unending circle of fear and trouble! I'm like that death cloud! I seem normal, but then I bring chaos in my wake!" Everyone in the garage was silenced by Hiro's words, each expression telling of their surprise, understanding and uncomfortableness. Hiro whipped his rabbit ears in Tadashi's face, making the other cry out, and turned away from them.

"I'm not coming home! And you can't make me!" With that, Hiro dashed away. Tadashi seemed to be trying to create words, but failing every time. Finally, he groaned in anger and frustration, putting a hand on his hip and pinching the bridge of his nose, head down and eyes closed in irritated contemplation. Honey Lemon tried to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he moved out of her reach.

"I need some rest." he said as he lowered his cap, disappearing as well. The remainder of the group looked worriedly at each other. Gogo turned to where the two brothers had departed and popped her gum.

"Those two seriously need to woman up."

* * *

Tadashi found himself lying in bed, thinking and unable to sleep. He shifted and turned under the covers, trying out different positions to try and get to dreamland as fast as possible and temporarily escape today's events. But the thoughts ran amok in his mind with great energy and refused to let him go just yet. He sighed dejectedly at his fate and turned to the ceiling with a frown. Lifting his head slightly, he looked over to his little brother's empty bed.

Hiro was hiding from Aunt Cass. Did he really think that he could hide from her forever? Just leave her in ignorance? The older brother was pretty sure the younger couldn't and started to prepare his argument for tomorrow. He tried to envision them explaining Hiro's sudden appearance so that the elder could have a plan and try to convince the younger to follow it. But no matter how hard he tried, Tadashi could only picture negative outcomes, most of them ending with tears or madness. He couldn't get the idea of Aunt Cass getting upset out of his head. Was it really worth the risk? Now Tadashi wasn't so sure.

Tadashi's eyes lowered, sleep finally winning the battle as the thoughts began to slow down. ' _Maybe I should just wait and see what happens…Hiro will do it…when…he's…ready…_ '

* * *

' _Argh, and this day started out so well too_.' Hiro internally growled as he sped walked through the luxurious hallways of Fred's mansion, his rabbit ears hitting the back of his legs. He knew Tadashi was right. There was no guarantee that he could avoid Aunt Cass, and quite frankly, a part of him didn't want to. He loved her. He missed her. He wanted to be with her again, to talk with her, to be embraced by her, to be a family again, but right now, he had something more important to work on.

He had to get his powers under control.

The prodigy had caused two explosions (a couple more if he had realized it was him causing trouble on route to the library) and could barely control it in the other dimension, after which he gained a monstrous headache. If he couldn't get this under control, then an accident either through emotion of lack of understanding would be inevitable. Hiro wanted to avoid that at all costs.

Stopping at a pair of large doors, Hiro took a deep breath, quickly let it out and gripped his black memory stick, readying himself. When he knocked, he heard some confused voices on the other side, and after a moment, Heathcliff answered, opening the entryway to see who was there. The prodigy gave the butler a guilty smile and waved meekly.

"Hi, Heathcliff. I believe Fred told you about me."

"And he told me as well." called a voice. Heathcliff smiled and gave Hiro view of the old man sitting in the middle of a couch with Fred by his side. Both of them smiled at the newcomer warmly, the brunet even more so and the father's wrinkles making the expression brighter rather than older. Hiro chuckled and smiled back in greeting.

"I see. It's nice to see you, Uncle Stan."

"Uncle Stan?" Fred asked curiously. Stan tilted his head.

"Fred made no indication you knew me. And I don't believe we are related."

"I got to know you and Heathcliff very well in my timeline. We would watch you teach Fred how to use his powers." Hiro explained, taking a seat next to Stan. The brunet jumped in his seat

"I have powers!" Fred exclaimed happily, turning with his knees to his father with sparkles in his eyes. Stan chuckled.

"Of course we have powers. Did you think I was just running around in a suit and holding a blaster?" Fred's smile grew and he bounced on the couch like a child.

"Teach me, teach me, teach me!"

"Hahaha, I will, I will. In fact, I'm looking forward to it." The old man sighed happily, regaining his breath. Fred started cheering and jumping for joy, running around the room before dashing down the halls. The people left behind could hear his shouts echoing through the halls. Heathcliff sighed and Stan merely took a sip of his tea. Hiro twiddled his thumbs a bit, shifting in his spot like he had something uncomfortable to say. Stan glanced at the young boy inquisitively.

"Is something wrong, Hiro?"

"C-Can I join in? I know technology manipulation isn't your specialty, but…"

"Hm, true, it's not…" Stan said, eyes closed in contemplation. He arched his head back on the couch, hand to his chin. He looked to Hiro again with a sly smile. "But I'm willing to give it a try." Hiro hugged the old man happily, feeling grounded now that someone could help him.

"Thank you!" Hiro exclaimed, squeezing tighter.

He had faith in his Uncle Stan.

He would get this.

They had to figure it out.

* * *

"No, wait!"

"I'm sorry, Aihara. I know you're a genius and all, but what you're trying to make is simply too dangerous and experimental. Goodbye."

"Arishima!"

As Aihara Takehiko called out, the Skype video call ended and the face of the fellow scientist disappeared. Takehiko groaned and started pulling at his naturally silver-white hair. Sighing in defeat and tiredness, he went on the internet to once again with a heavy heart and began his search for a capable scientist that might be willing to help him with his controversial experiment. He had asked so many people, yet again and again, not one would accept his plea. It was absolutely frustrating and it hurt his soul. He didn't know how much more he could take.

He just wanted to-

Suddenly, Takehiko sensed an uninvited guest in the apartment. His eyes narrowed and his hand hovered over a pocket, ready to draw out a silver army knife. He turned to face the intruder. The figure in the shadows smirked with a glint maddening glee in his black eyes, calm and confident as he stepped into view. Takehiko's eyes widened before his frown twitched into a smile and he laughed maniacally.


	18. Chapter 18: Indigo

**Chapter 18: Indigo**

Tadashi stared down at his eggs and spicy ramen breakfast. The scent should have brought a delightful feeling and a hungry stomach. The sight should have encouraged excitement. But… The college student sighed silently, trying to expel the negativity, and looked to Aunt Cass, who was eating silently, but happily. He then looked at the empty chairs again, solemnly wishing Hiro was in one of them. It was just the two of them, and if Hiro being dead didn't set everything into whack, then Hiro being alive yet not here was very uncomfortable. It was a little lonely. He still wanted Hiro to come home, but he feared what would happen if he pushed it. That didn't change the fact that this secret Tadashi had against his caretaker felt so very wrong. ' _Argh, I want to tell her! But unless Hiro steps up, she won't believe me!_ ' In frustration, he stabbed his noodles before eating them.

"Tadashi? Is something wrong?" Tadashi blinked at his concerned aunt, all earlier thoughts turning from anger to fear.

"Oh, uh, no. I'm just a little tired. Yesterday hasn't quite gotten off my shoulders yet." The college student stopped himself in alarm, immediately scolding himself for that sentence. Why was he trying to lead the conversation to Hiro?! He could have stopped talking after the second sentence, not continue!

"Hm? What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head with a frown to encourage context.

"Uhhh, that's…Um, there's, uh, this new student in the lab that's really whipping up a storm." he said rather uncertainly.

"Oh! So he's like Fred!" She clapped her hands together and smiled. Tadashi looked away, his shoulders moving up out of tension.

"…Yes."

"Bring him to the café sometime! I'd love to meet him."

"I…will."

' _Someday…maybe…hopefully_.'

* * *

When Tadashi entered the room, his eyes locked with Hiro's wide ones landing on him upon noticing the door open. The younger turned away, the elder sensing uncomfortableness in his brother's air. It would seem last night's conversation was still hanging on Hiro's mind and it had caused tension between them. Tadashi narrowed his eyes, looking down as he closed the door behind him before heading towards the closest seat, not wanting to provoke Hiro and create a larger rift. Frowning, he sat down and turned back to his little brother.

Hiro was surrounded by a small group of students and was undoubtedly not used to being crowded as his eyes darted around with no idea where to look. Tadashi felt compelled to save him like he had done when they were kids, when Hiro would be bullied in the schoolyard, when they were closer. The only time those chocolate brown eyes had a momentary straight line was when someone asked him a question.

"Why are you so thin?!" a boy asked. "You look like you haven't eaten in months." Tadashi raised a brow at Hiro, clearly eavesdropping, curious about that question as well and interested in what the cat hoodie wearer would say. Hiro, who felt the gaze, tried not to focus on his brother and turned to his classmate.

"Oh, um, I got into an extremely bad eating routine in an attempt to lose weight, only had one meal a day." The crowd looked very disturbed by this, some caressing their stomachs. "But I'm working to get back to a healthier weight. The message of the story is be careful who and where you get your advice from." Hiro added to make them feel better. It worked and they started smiling lightly before moving on to more questions, the new student working hard to keep up with them.

It seemed the younger brother didn't need help lying and Tadashi was rather unimpressed with the conversation, so he just stared at his brother in boredom. Hiro's cat ear seemed to twitch and the 'twin' momentarily turned to his older brother, ignoring him once again. Tadashi looked down sadly and started rummaging through his stuff for class. Once out of things to do, he focused back on Hiro, who was now talking to that demon boy that was staring at his brother lustfully yesterday. The overprotective brother's eyes narrowed and his blood boiled.

His list of things to worry about was still growing.

* * *

Tadashi was still irritated when class started, when it ended, when he left to get Baymax, when he met up with the others at Fred's mansion, when Hiro continued to ignore him. He was but a ball of stress, ready to bounce and hit someone's head, and at the moment, Fred was proving to be a tempting target. It would have gone Gogo on him if not for the heavy robot in a box he was carrying.

"Argh! I'm so excited! My dad's going to teach me how to be a superhero!" Fred cried out happily, bouncing through the halls in his suit like the ball of happiness he was. The positivity made Tadashi jealous, causing him to roll his eyes with a huff. The brunet's joy was fueling the taller male's anger. It was so strong that he didn't have the power to be shocked by this new discovery.

"I'm still having a hard time understanding this. You two have superpowers?" Wasabi scratched the back of his head after he finished adjusting his suit. "How can you not know?"

"Fred's power is based on bringing the strength of the mind into the body." Hiro clarified.

"Oh. Now I understand everything."

"Hey!" Fred yelled in protest.

"I'm joking!" Wasabi brought an arm around the brunet's shoulder, giving it a firm, reassuring grip before giving his hair a nuggy.

"It's a little more complicated than that." Widening their eyes, the group turned to see an old man coming down another hallway. Fred smiled widely and ran to him.

"Dad!"

"Hello, Uncle Stan." Hiro sang, also making his way to the oldest man in the area.

"Hi." Wasabi and Tadashi greeted together.

"Good day, boys." Stan greeted. Fred motioned his arms to present his father like an amazing magician.

"Guys, meet my dad!" Fred turned to his father. "Dad, meet Tadashi and Wasabi!"

"It is very nice to meet you." Stan held out his hand to them for a shake. "You may call me Stan."

"Hi, Stan." Wasabi said, taking the hand and giving it a firm shake. Once finished, Tadashi got in, taking the hand and got a good look at the former superhero. Despite the wrinkles and white hair, Stan still had this life in him, making it hard to put down an age assumption, not that Tadashi wanted to. That would be rude. However, he was curious what this man would do next, especially with the examining gaze the elder was giving.

"It's nice to meet you. Hiro told me all about you."

"Oh, I hope it was all good things." Stan looked away.

"Yes and no, it was more…sad." Tadashi's face twisted in strain and guilt, imagining the heartbreak Hiro may have expressed. Hiro jumped in, not wanting to go that direction again, and tapped Stan's shoulder, drawing the attention to him before clapping his hands.

"Alright, now that introductions are over, I say we get to the training room and start the lesson."

Fred looked at his father skeptically. "We have a training room?" Stan chuckled at Fred's apparently silly question and reached for the landscape portrait beside him. He pressed it and the wall turned into a door, moving back to reveal a dark room. The group blinked. "Does every picture in this house have a secret room?"

"No. Only a few pictures have something behind them." The elder man stepped inside, the college students following him like ducklings.

Sensors picked up movement and the ceiling lit with many large lights. Their eyes trailed over the revealed details. The place was oddly structured, rooms divided yet connected by little hallways and walls of cement. They were not too small or excessively big. This first section, which they were currently in, was very gym like with its variety of equipment, especially in weights. Thanks to the hallway, they had a glimpse of some wooden swords and dummys piled together, waiting to be used. The tools roused the student's interest, their gazes sparking the imagination and making them wonder what they would do.

Stan moved towards the weights. "Now, Hiro, your comment wasn't wrong, but you know our power is more than just the mind."

"You have your version, I have mine."

"Well, from my perception, the factors that give us power are mind, soul and body." The old man then took the biggest weight and started playing with it like it was a toy, twirling the large piece of black with one glowing finger, making Hiro chuckle and the others to stare with mouths open. As the young men gaped, Stan made distance between them as he continued, staring at the blue hue of an aura. "The soul is the source of your power, your core where the energy is made. The mind is the link between it and the body, letting this energy flow into the physique. The body is the vessel in which this power can move in purpose. I have the ability to take this energy and amplify it." Stan suddenly put two hands on the weight, hands glowing sky blue with massive power, and crushed it, the remains falling to the floor like little rocks. Fred let out a sound of excitement, like he was seeing the coolest thing in the world. The super-powered father turned to his son, gesturing at the remaining weights. "And you have this power as well. Fred, take a weight that you can lift, but not well. Then I want you to search for your soul energy so you can hold the weight with no trouble. We'll move into further techniques when you finish."

Fred quickly yelled in acknowledgement and ran to the weights, immediately reaching for the biggest weights in the shelves. The rest of the group looked to each other uncertainly as Fred tried and failed to lift it up before Wasabi tried to give the brunet some words of caution and wisdom. Deciding to let the bandana wearer have his attempt at reasoning, Stan turned to the younger brother apprehensively.

"Hiro."

"Yes?"

"I don't know how your power works, so I would like you to take some time to use the microbots until you get a headache. Just do little things. I need to know your limits before suggesting anything."

"Okay."

Hiro was about to turn and head out when a high-pitched scream resounded. The brothers and elder man blinked and turned to see Wasabi looking fearfully at a dropped weight and Fred scratching his head with a frown of confusion before reaching for something only slightly lighter, clearly still thinking he was stronger than reality. Stan hummed.

"I think I need to talk to Fred before he breaks something."

* * *

After leaving the secret training area, Hiro went to the mansion's garage, where Heathcliff had set up a lab area like back at the café, and Tadashi had followed him. Currently, Hiro was using microbot hands to type on his laptop, his actual hands on his chin and crossed legs as he talked to Baymax on the communicator. The healthcare robot had been activated and asked to be on look out, searching the city and helping people while his comrades tried to get stronger. This particular comrade he was talking to was multitasking between reports and making something exciting with a brand new 3-D printer, leaving Tadashi alone in the corner with no eye contact or sound or acknowledgement of his existence. After making one last thing, Hiro bounced out of his seat and took it out.

It was a new suit, and as the prodigy started putting it on, tossing aside his casual wear, Tadashi tilted his head in fascination. Hiro's new black armour clung all over his arms, a chest plate protecting his vitals. Red lines moved over them like ribbons binding it all together, seemingly ending at the red sphere on that chest armour. Black steel tipped boats shielded his feet and armour went up to his knees, covering the indigo capris. A dark blue cloak was under all the upper protective gear and spilled out like a waterfall behind him. It danced and flowed aesthetically as he moved around to check himself out. When Hiro put on the hood, Tadashi linked the new look to a sorcerer, someone magical and out of the combat norm. It was nice, suitable to everything about Hiro. Tadashi blinked, noticing that Hiro's conversation with Baymax had ended as he put on some black gloves, and saw that this was his chance to talk to his younger brother.

"So…" Hiro made no move to turn to Tadashi, whose brow lowered further. The prodigy instead chose to inspect a black visor. "I've decided to let you explain to Aunt Cass what's going on. You can take your time. Just make sure you do it when you know you're ready." Tadashi said. The younger gave him a glance this time, then looked down before nodding in acknowledgement, expression softer.

The two then fell into silence as Hiro refocused on his suit, adjusting it for a better fit and testing the flow of his coat tails, making sure they wouldn't get in the way. Tadashi bit his lip, not liking the situation with his brother at all. He wanted them to communicate again, to connect like before, when they had fun. Feeling the need to break the silence and bring their relationship back to normal, Tadashi looked to Hiro for a subject. His eyes narrowed when one in particular came.

"Hey, when do I get a suit and some tech?" Tadashi asked innocently. Hiro abruptly turned to Tadashi with wide eyes.

"W-What?"

"Well, you know, like Fred and the others. I can't exactly fight villains with just my fists, so when can I get some fighting tech?"

The prodigy looked down and around frantically as he considered his answer. "Uh, well, that's…" Hiro shook his head. "No, no! Absolutely not going to happen!"

"Say what?" Tadashi frowned, not expecting this as Hiro's response. "Do you expect me to just ride around on Baymax?"

"Uh…yes?" Tadashi glared at Hiro, relaying his resolve and seriousness. Anxiety faded from Hiro's eyes and posture in return, gaining more footing in his opinion, his face twisting to retaliate against the negativity in his brother's expression.

"I'm not staying on the sidelines while you fight, Hiro."

"Well, you're going to have to."

"No, I don't! I want to help!"

"When you help people, you're reckless! No amount of admirable selflessness can balance that!"

"Isn't that what you're doing?! Isn't that what this whole project is, what you're doing at school, what you're doing with Aunt Cass?!

"Stop making problems!"

"Problems or truth, Hiro?! That's what they actually are!"

"Why can't you just stay out of this?!"

"Because I just want to be with you! I don't want to lose you again!"

"Well, I don't want to lose you again either!" Hiro yelled in voice broken with sadness. He grabbed Tadashi's dress shirt and brought the taller male lower, bringing their eyes inches apart. Tadashi could only look into those captivating and tearful eyes. "I don't want to lose anybody! I don't want to be alone! I don't want to you to get hurt! I don't want you to leave me! Please, I just want to protect you!"

Both of them were panting, trying to catch their breath as the adrenaline moving their shouting and argument faded with those last words. They looked to each other with begging, desperate eyes, a silent conversation passing between them as they tried to make each other see their pained hearts, their reasoning, their broken souls, their tortured minds. Every painful thing they had ever been through and everything they wanted was put into that one gaze.

But before any resolution could come, an earthquake came, causing the two to lose their balance and drop to the floor. It was only a second, but the response to the disaster moved at the speed of light. Hiro's hand pressed on his communicator, no doubt listening to Baymax on the other end. The prodigy's eyes widened and he stood up, heading for the outside world. Tadashi immediately got up to chase him.

"Hiro, wait!"

But Hiro was already gone, microbots letting him disappear over a building. Tadashi stared at where the sibling was last seen in distress and looked around, trying to find out where the younger had disappeared to so he could speak to him again.

* * *

When Hiro, Wasabi and Fred landed on the scene, it was a chaotic mess. Their mouths moved down in amazement at what they were seeing. People were running all over the streets, trying to get away from strange bulky rock warriors, dirt molded together like clay to make limbs. Each of them was smashing whatever was in their way, knocking some people into the air, while in the background, similar monsters were rampaging a large store and taking out many electronic devices.

Baymax was doing his best to protect citizens, simultaneously destroying monsters and catching those that were tossed. But every time he destroyed one soldier, they would reaerate a minute later, staggering as they recovered and continued their assault. Narrowing his camera eyes, the healthcare robot then shot his rocket-fist like an arrow, the force destroying multiple rock monsters and even hitting the ones that were stealing.

Suddenly, the shook once again. Hiro frowned, and he frowned further when more earth soldiers started emerging from the ground. The earth below had now lost its stability and a building started to tip. Then, before Hiro's very eyes, a giant hand of rock moved up and knocked the building in the opposite direction before squishing it into the earth.

"What the hell?" Hiro exclaimed, gaze glued to the unnaturally moving earth.

Then he noticed _him_.

Just next to the hand was a tall man dressed in a white coat and silver gloves, his clothes moving with the flying dust while still matching his shining white hair. The hair did not go with that body build. Steel covered his fit chest, moving up to his shoulders and holding a diamond shaped jewel in the center, silver lines embracing it. White leather, silver tipped boots, littered with done up belts, protected his feet. The man then turned, giving Hiro and the others a good view of the half-kabuki mask covering his eyes and nose, black streaks waving over the surface like black horns. And much like a devil, he used that rock hand to hit Baymax, freezing in place and burying the robot.

"Baymax!" Hiro screamed in worry. At his voice, the villain quickly turned to him. When that mouth curved into a smile upon noticing him, the chill down Hiro's spine brought all the fear in his heart outward. "Guys! Be careful! I don't remember him!" Hiro cried out to his comrades in alarm. Wasabi gave him an incredulous look.

"Don't remember him?! How can you not remember a villain who pulls soldiers out of the ground?!"

"You're right. I didn't phrase that right. Guys! Be careful! We didn't fight this guy in my timeline! I don't know what he's capa-" Suddenly, a large rock was thrown Hiro's way, cutting the indigo clad hero's sarcasm in half. So distracted, he didn't react fast enough and it hit his mask, causing it to fall off. The villain smirked as if pleased of something and charged towards the microbot user with rolling earth as his transportation. Hiro's eyes widened as the white clad man was near him in seconds. The villain's arm was covered in hard earth and he aimed a punch at the young hero. Hiro dodged, missing it by the skin of his teeth, but only for the mysterious villain to throw a kick. The indigo clad hero tried to avoid it, but it hit the side of his chest. Hiro cringed and held his side to dull the pain and protect his weakness. As the man was about to throw Hiro another punch, Fred landed in front of him and used his flamethrower, forcing the man to dodge and throw a large stone at an incoming attack from Wasabi, who cut the mineral to pieces.

"Hiro! Are you okay?!"

"Damn it, not good. My body isn't ready for fighting yet..." he muttered. The white clad villain chuckled darkly and, at the gestures of his hands, the earth trembled as if struggling to resist this man's commands, but ultimately gave in as three large rocks emerged and were hurled at the three heroes. Too large to deal with, all three tried to get away, falling down as the impact rumbled the ground.

Hiro coughed when the dust entered his lungs, still gripping his screaming side. Groaning in pain, he got into a sitting position and tried to grip the cement below. Next to him, the forgotten rock hand exploded as Baymax blasted it off him. Sensing an injury, Baymax turned to see Hiro's vulnerable form and rushed to him as fast as his legs would allow.

"Hiro." In response, the prodigy shook his head.

"Now is not the time." Hiro stood up shakily and saw the villain on a tower of rock and Fred jumping into the air to blow fire, only for a rock shield to appear, protecting their criminal of the day. A second later, the rock tower started to collapse and the white clad villain had to find new ground.

Baymax gave the smaller hero more stability before turning to where Hiro's gaze was and spoke. "Hiro, I am concerned."

"What's wrong, Baymax?" Hiro asked, leaning into his friend's support.

"I can't sense any vital signs from this person. He is in front of me, yet my scanners do not detect him." Hiro's eyes narrowed and turned to the white armoured villain. Another odd puzzle piece. He didn't recall fighting anyone at this time who could do any of this. Was this a unique trait to this parallel world? Hiro didn't like the strengthening fear in his stomach.

A yell was heard. It was Wasabi. The bandana wearer had been pressed into rubble, the rock hand freezing into place. As Fred moved to help his friend, he didn't notice the motorbike sized rock thrown his way and was knocked unconscious. Hiro's breathe was lost in his throat as he felt panic and worry for his friends. But it was short lived when the villain started aiming for him and his healthcare companion. A wall was made between them and Baymax was then assaulted by waves of cannon balls. Mad, when the white devil himself started coming at him directly, Hiro moved his hands, telling the microbots to come to his aid. The villain seemed to like that idea and little rocks started to appear, mimicking any movements the microbots made.

For the next dozen minutes, Hiro and the white clad man were at a stalemate, finding themselves in the air as they were supported, defended and attacked by each other's powers. Every move the hero made, the villain would copy it with a teasing and pleased smile. Hiro's face twisted in anger as he got more offensive, his attacks stronger in response to his emotions. It started to work. So fast and powerful, the taller man was forced to go on the defensive and protect himself from a large attack of microbots. Both the rocks and microbots fell to the ground.

Panting from tiredness, Hiro found the pain in his side too much again and the other bots had to let him down as his concentration left him. Then, out of the blue, hands shot out and grabbed Hiro's neck, forcing his body to lie on the ground. The prodigy gasped as air started coming to him in smaller doses. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on getting those large hands off him. The white clothed villain was over him.

"It's been a while. Both of us seem to have gained something interesting, eh?" Hiro opened an eye, staring confusedly at the man. "I think I like yours better, though."

"Huh?" That was all Hiro could get out. The white devil moved his mouth close to the boy's ear, causing the smaller to shudder as intruding breath entered his personal space.

"Join me, Hiro."

A punch was the man's response, but it wasn't from Hiro. Turning to the right, the prodigy saw his older brother, fist still clenched as he watched the villain fall a couple feet away and panting. Tadashi then turned to Hiro with worried eyes, quickly moving his body down and checking his little brother over, lifting the younger's body up and fingers only lightly touching the neck in examination. Finding no life threatening injury, Tadashi hugged Hiro close.

"Oh, thank goodness. You're okay."

"T-Tadashi?" Hiro called out, hands unconsciously gripping his brother's cardigan harder. At his name, the elder brother broke the hug and gave the younger a sad smile.

"We've been through a lot. We've lost a lot…" Tadashi started to caress Hiro's untameable locks gently. Hiro lowered his eyes, calmness spreading from that kind hand out of distant instinct. "But we're trying to move passed it. We fall and rise. But I'd like to think that we are helping each other in getting back up." Tadashi brought Hiro back into an embrace, this time tighter as they rested their heads on each other's shoulders, the elder brother's hand still in the younger's dark hair. "So please, let me protect you, protect everyone, just like you're protecting me. Let's be together as we move into our changing future."

That…was…right. That was right. Hiro lived through Tadashi's death, and found reason to keep going to avenge him, only to later follow his brother's example and help people. Tadashi had lost Hiro, and found reason to keep going to avenge him, only to later find him again and chose to follow him to continue helping others. And Hiro had been proving to be able to protect his now newborn hero of a brother from Callaghan, and Tadashi did the same in the odd dimension. They had both lost each other, and yet they were each other's motivation to move forward into the world of heroism. Tadashi's reckless selflessness was balanced by Hiro's talent, and Hiro's reckless selfishness was balanced by Tadashi's brotherly wisdom. They needed each other and the world had brought them back together. It brought two different yet similar people together to fight for the same goals. Hiro wanted this. He wanted to be by Tadashi's side as equals, not a hero and his damsel. The indigo hero closed his eyes, taking this new thought process in.

' _Sigh, you're not the smartest between us, but somehow you're always the one that's right_.'

At the sound of an angry growl, both brothers turned to see the white dressed villain get up, mask broken on the ground. When he turned to them with a glare of black, somehow void eyes, Hiro started to shake. He knew that face. He knew that face! The prodigy felt the fear in his stomach spread to his heart and freezing his blood. The name came out of his mouth in a pitiful whimper.

"S-Seishin."

* * *

 **Seishin means spirit.**

 **These chapters are getting harder to write now that I have a summer job…**


	19. Chapter 19: Violet

**Chapter 19: Violet**

"That's Seishin!" Tadashi exclaimed in utter astonishment. Hiro could only nod fearfully, shaking in his brother's tightening protective arms. If that man was here, then the future he came from could still happen, only with a stronger percentage of success. This Seishin knew what he needed, what he had to do, leaving this world with a much shorter time limit. If they didn't stop Seishin now, who knows what could happen. Hiro swallowed a lump in his throat and pushed his terror down to glare at his nemesis.

Seishin did not seem bothered by his identity's revelation, merely brushing the stray strands down his silky white bangs over half his face. "I'm happy you recognized me." he muttered sarcastically and glared at the Hamadas. The villain looked behind him momentarily before muttering something about time and summoning two large rock soldiers. "As much as I would love to talk with you more, play with these guys for now."

"Wai-!" As Seishin turned, one of the soldiers slammed its large arm at the brothers. To avoid it, Tadashi separated himself from his brother and used the motion to help them dodge the attack. The concrete below broke under the force. Hiro gasped as he hit the ground again while the second moving rock lifted its arm to strike the telepath.

"Hiro!" Tadashi cried out. He was about to go to him, but the other rock soldier swung at him. He caught the arm, and struggled to hold it back, looking back at Hiro in worry.

When Tadashi called out, Hiro closed his eyes and screamed in his mind. Almost instantly, microbots moved and grabbed the soldier's arm, wrapping around it and holding it back like a chain. Hiro opened his eyes with a glare. He reached towards the microbots before squeezing his hands into a fist. At the command, the specks of black strengthened their hold and broke the arm to pieces. The soldier seemed to let out a soundless cry of agony.

Hiro then waved his hand towards the rock monster threatening his brother. In response, the microbots stabbed the moving rock like a spear before spreading through the body until it could no longer connect with the rest of itself and shattered. Tadashi's eyes widened and turned to his brother's raging ones. The eye contact was momentary as Hiro destroyed what was left of the other soldier and had his microbots pick him up to chase after Seishin.

Tadashi followed after them, but a few steps later, he heard a loud crash. He turned to see Baymax blasting the last of the earth canons. He ran up to the healthcare robot. "Baymax!"

"Tadashi?" Baymax tilted his head.

"Hiro is fighting Seishin alone! We need to get Fred and Wasabi!"

"Understood."

Baymax then blasted off, scanning the setting for his comrades. When the healthcare robot took off in Wasabi's direction, Tadashi started searching for Hiro. He didn't know what he could do, but he had to do something. He had to help. After a minute, the baseball cap wearer finally saw a tower of rock shoot out, serving as a good beacon. He maneuvered quickly around the rubble and hid behind a large forgotten rock when a stone spear nearly stabbed him. He peeked out to see.

Hiro was struggling to get close to his opponent. Seishin was standing in front of some cables, destroyed rock monsters behind him. The indigo clad hero was releasing onslaught after onslaught of attacks, forcing the villain to go on the defensive, having no chance to strategize, take a break or make an army. Neither was slowing down, making interfering, or much less helping, impossible for Tadashi. If he tried to get in there now, he would be killed, or at the very least knocked out.

The college student bit his lip, eyes darting over the fighters as his hands folded into a fist. He hated this feeling of uselessness. ' _My brother is fighting and I'm stuck behind a boulder_.'

Then something happened.

Tadashi wasn't sure what, but Seishin and Hiro started to slow down. The elder brother could track their movements more easily. He could see that both of them were panting and sweating. This formally high-speed fight was finally taking its toll. This was his chance!

Tadashi started making sneaky, quiet steps, his fist still stiff as a steel ball. Halfway into the battlefield, Hiro noticed him moving behind Seishin, stopping momentarily before returning to the fight, letting the villain or Tadashi read nothing in his expression. Tadashi let out some breath as Hiro made sure all the attention was on him and his microbots.

Finally, the elder brother got to hit Seishin.

All the anger at this person, who had destroyed the world, who was the reason his friends had died, who was the cause of Hiro's misery, was put into that one punch. It made Seishin lose his balance, making Tadashi a little impressed with himself for knocking around such a muscular man. The villain recovered and glared at the one who interfered with his fight with Hiro. He threw a kick at Tadashi, which was blocked and countered. Seishin blocked the incoming kick and sent a rock hand to stop Hiro's own sneak attack. Tadashi and the white clad devil then had a fist fight, dodging, blocking and attacking each other in a steady pattern. Hiro broke free from the restraints and let himself fall like a meteorite towards Seishin. But the white clad man got away just in time, letting the hero fall towards his brother. Hiro, however, was just as reactive as Seishin was and summoned his microbots, making them catch him and put him down before quickly making them strike Seishin, who barely dodged this time and used his earth manipulation to knock the tech away.

"Those things are becoming a bit of a pain."

The villain lifted multiple large rocks, including the one Tadashi had previously been hiding behind, and made them hurl towards the brothers. Suddenly, green, blue and red entered the fight and destroyed/knocked away the incoming attacks. The brothers smiled widely.

"Fred! Wasabi! Baymax!" Hiro exclaimed.

"Glad you could join us!"

"Do not worry. Fred and Wasabi have no lasting injuries."

"Sorry, we took so long. It took a while to wake up Fredzilla here!" Wasabi explained.

"My bad." Fred scratched the back of his neck guiltily before turning to their opponent with a determined, heroic stare, the others following his lead. "Now let's get this guy!"

Seishin narrowed his eyes at the reinforcements and lifted his hand, causing the heroes to take a defensive stance. But suddenly, the villain's eyes widened and he gripped his head, letting out a pained noise. Seishin backed away and looked to his confused opponents analytically. He let out an angry groan.

"Tch, looks like it's time to leave." Forcing himself through the pain, Seishin slammed his hand on the ground and a cloud of dust.

"What?! No! Get back here!" Hiro stood up, microbots following after him, but a scorching pain in his side stabbed his body with immobilization and he collapsed back down, the microbots going limp. He gasped and groaned, eyes glaring in frustration as the dust cleared, revealing that Seishin and the cables were gone. He slammed his fist onto the ground. "Damn it!"

The others gathered around the injured technopath, looking at him worriedly as Baymax brought his friend to a sitting position. Hiro ran a hand through his bangs, revealing his distressed face and fearful eyes. Baymax took off the red armour off his hand and tried to cool the prodigy's bruised ribs, trying to settle the pain and inflammation that was hurting the boy. But it did little to comfort Hiro's swirling emotions.

"Argh, what am I gonna do?! He's going to remake that machine! He's going to destroy the world! Everyone's going to die again!" As Hiro ranted in panic, Tadashi ran up to him and put his hands firmly on the younger brother's shoulders.

"No, no, no! Hiro, none of that is going to happen, okay?! _We_ won't let him! _We'll_ stop him! And absolutely _no one_ is going is going to die!" Tadashi said, voice firm with certainty and determination. Hiro envied it. Why was he always shaking like this?

"I want to believe that so much, but…" Hiro chocked as tears brimmed his eyes. Tadashi took his brother into an embrace, rubbing circles on his back and caressing those untameable locks to try and calm the smaller male down.

"Believe it. Believe in us." Hiro hid his in face in Tadashi's warm arms.

"…I'll…I'll try."

* * *

Hiro stared blankly. He just stared, reading the black iron sign a few more times. "San Fransokyo Cemetery." He didn't know what compelled him to come here of all places, but when he looked deep into his chaotic heart for answers, feeling the familiar constriction, he found that he was unbelievably curious, curious about _it_.

The prodigy started walking, moving towards a certain location, following the same path he had done a thousand times before in his timeline. Only this time, the words were all different. On a sakura decorated grey stone were the words: "Hiro Hamada, 2136-2150." So strange. This was unthinkable to Hiro's mind a few days ago, and his heart was still having a hard time believing this. He traced his hands over the smooth surface like he had done many times to Tadashi's gravestone, feeling the hard surface as if it were skin.

With every inch, Hiro thought. He thought of Tadashi, the one who would have been here if not for one change in time, the one who wanted to fight for him, the one who wanted to fight _with_ him, the one who was here for him. He then thought of what everyone was about to face. His fingers shook and stumbled slightly as he thought of that white devil with no respect for any life, who thought only of those that had already passed on. That idiot was going to bring destruction to the world again. They would need all the help they could get. Big Hero 6… ' _No, it's Big Hero 7 now_.' Hiro thought with a smile, not noticing how his fingers no longer shook, continuing down the stone's smooth and somehow soft slope. ' _Tadashi is one of us now. Maybe that is the change we need to divert the future_.' Hiro's heart felt a little lighter at the idea of fighting Seishin with his brother by his side. With that geokinesis, they would need all the help they could get. They would need to protect each other and stop Seishin. As his fingers finally reached the end of their journey of stone, Hiro sighed and looked up at the blue sky.

"Damn, my head must be pretty messed up if just staring at my own grave is enough to bring me stability…" Hiro chuckled to himself and gave his grave a light fist bump. ' _Don't worry. I'll take care of them. This time, the right way_.' Feeling motivated and ready, Hiro turned away and headed home.

He had work to do.

* * *

The next day, Tadashi and Wasabi walked to Fred's mansion. The baseball cap wearer was almost bouncing, almost speed walking down the sidewalks, but was resisting the childish movements, energy of excitement demanding to be released in some fashion. Wasabi was staring at that goofy grin that his friend was unable to hold back. The bandana wearer couldn't help smile at the contagious happiness and raise a brow at Tadashi.

"I don't think I've seen you this happy since Hiro decided to get into SFIT."

"I don't see how I couldn't. I'm like a kid that's about to get his Christmas present!" Tadashi started moving faster, getting ahead of Wasabi, forcing the shorter male to speed up.

"Slow down! It's not going anywhere!" Wasabi exclaimed in distress as he tried to catch up.

Turning into the luxurious home, moving towards the side and into the backyard, Tadashi found Fred standing over Hiro and a black case impatiently, the two of them turning to the newcomer and the other that was following after with a greeting smile. Tadashi was quick to join them and Fred shared in the painful excitement with a goofy grin, positively beaming with fanboy enthusiasm. Hiro hummed a tune and stood up, moving away slightly to give a good presenting view to his audience.

"So? Are you ready?" Hiro asked teasingly.

"Come on, just show us already!" Fred yelled desperately.

Hiro's smile widened and looked at the tantalizing faces of his friends and brother, mocking them with a pause. It didn't last long, however, as even he was excited and opened the case. Hearts were pounding fast as he took out violet fabric. It was odd the way it shined and felt, soft yet metal like, bringing a sense of comfort and protection. The group was curious about what it did. Before they could investigate, Hiro turned the suit over, showing the tech on the back. There were two black upside down shields where the shoulder blades would be and some smaller ones on the back thighs. On the back between the two shields was a red sphere.

Putting the suit in Tadashi's hands, Hiro went back to the case and pulled out some matching gloves and under the knee combat boots. "Well, don't just stand there! Put them on!"

Dumbly, but quickly, Tadashi took off his cardigan and shoes, slipping into the violet suit. It fit perfectly and was indeed as comfortable as it looked. Zipping it all the way up his neck, he assessed how the fabric clung to his body. It made him look stronger than he thought he was. Steel tipped combat boots protected his legs and armoured black gloves gave his fists a hard punch. Tadashi's fingers traced the two odd purple spares on his palms. All in all, it was…disappointingly simple to an onlooker in comparison to the other suits, even with the red lines that connected it all together, centering on the two pieces on tech on his back. It was when Hiro put a matching violet helmet with yellow and orange lines zigzagging on his head that things got interesting. The moment that helmet snapped into place, all the lines started to glow like molten lava, receiving gasps of awe at the almost magical sight.

Fred jumped in cheer. "So cool!"

Tadashi tapped one of the red lines curiously. "W-What does it do?"

"Tell the suit to activate." Hiro instructed. Tadashi raised a brow.

"Um, activate suit?" His eyes as, a second later, Tadashi's glove was covered in flames, causing him to scream, thinking he was going to burn to death. As his other arm and boots became covered in hot fire, Tadashi tried to put it out.

"Tadashi, calm down! You're not going to burn! Fire can't hurt you!" At that revelation, Tadashi paused in his movements and noticed that he wasn't in pain, nothing hurt. Looking back at his arms, he started to admire the blaze, staring at the colours and the movements that seemed to dance to his commands. Wasabi got curious and reached out to the fire. Only a couple inches away, he immediately retracted his hand.

"Whoa! That's really hot! How is he not melting in there?!"

"Easy, I'm a genius. In my alternate timeline, one fire can be catastrophic, so I invented a special alloy that can't burn and keeps things inside at a good temperature, like a sort of force field. Meanwhile, on the outside of your boots and gloves, there's an alloy that holds fire. Naturally, this gives you a strong punch as well as give your opponents extra damage in close combat. In addition…" Hiro pointed at Tadashi's palms, purple spheres stood out against the embers. "This suit is equipped to allow you to make flames. It has the ability to absorb energy from the sun and mix it with plasma to make fire. Increase your oxygen demand, and you can make the flames higher and hotter."

"Oh, so he's like sun fire! From now one you are Sunfire!" Fred exclaimed. Tadashi gawked at the brunet.

"Huh?!"

Wasabi laughed. "You finally got your nickname, _Sunfire_!"

"Drat! I thought I dodged that bullet!"

"So did I. But then I came here and suddenly, people are calling me Black Iris. Just be glad it's catchy, _Sunfire_." Hiro patted his brother's shoulder in sarcastic comfort. Tadashi could only grumble.

"Please, don't call me that." Tadashi turned and started air poking his brother with his enflamed index finger, threatening him with heat waves. Hiro backed away.

"Alright, alright, I'll only do it in battle." Hiro put his hands in his pockets and turned to the garage. "Hey, Baymax, you almost ready?!"

"Yes." Baymax replied, stepping out into view. He was wearing his red suit, ready for…whatever Hiro had planned. The prodigy smiled brightly and turned back to his audience.

"Now, Tadashi, I've also given you the ability to use flame blasts and flight." Tadashi's eyes widened and looked to his palms again. "You can only use one or the other though and you can control the shift with verbal command. Just tell 'distant' for blasts, 'close' for what you have now. You can also tell it how much power you want by percentage." Hiro's expression suddenly became serious. "Never go too high. As with all power, it's incredibly dangerous, so you better use it responsibly."

"Is that your subtle way of telling me don't take things too far and blow up a building?" the older brother asked. The younger merely turned back to Baymax.

"You can fly thanks to those thrusters on your back." Tadashi blinked, and tried to look behind him, his friends having a much easier time getting a look. "You can use them anytime by saying 'fly,' but they're not very good. At least they can give you a nice jump, but in terms of flight, sixty kilometres an hour is the max." Hiro patted his healthcare friend. "That's where Baymax comes in. Once you get on his back, you two will immediately connect and reach higher speeds than when you two are by yourselves. You should give it a try." With that last explanation, Hiro pushed his brother towards the armoured healthcare robot. Tadashi climbed up without even thinking and his limbs locked into their respective locations. Baymax started to see neon violet on his screen and a rainbow coloured bar up to the max. The healthcare robot turned to Hiro, who gave him an encouraging nod.

"Activating enhanced thrusters." In a split second, Baymax's feet and Tadashi's back started to glow before spitting out into the drive. The two charged into the sky like a rocket heading to the moon at extreme speed.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Tadashi screamed his distress as they rose higher and higher into the sky with seemingly no ability to turn. Left behind, the remaining three frowned and blinked before Hiro brought his head back to its natural position, not feeling particularly worried.

"…Baymax'll figure it out."


	20. Chapter 20: Blue

**Chapter 20: Blue**

 _Darkness. Only comforting darkness that Hiro could float in with no control._

" _Hiro?_ "

' _That voice…Ash?_ '

" _Hey, Hiro. How'd that experiment of yours go?"_

' _Sam?' The blackness started to move into different colours, ghostly moving into browns and greys._

 _Hiro had…mixed feelings, the conflict bringing him to a semi-conscious state in a dream that the time-traveler had yet to determine if it was actually a nightmare. Should he be happy? Should he be sad? …Should he be scared? This dream, possible images of times that can never come to be again, was an ambiguous enigma, a bitter sweet place bringing itself to life in the unconscious mind. Hiro could honestly say…that he wouldn't mind staying there a little while longer. He mi-_

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

' _Ah! Huh? What?_ ' Hiro sleepily raised his head, glaring at the source of the sound in annoyance. It was his phone, the alarm telling him it was time to get ready for school. He sighed, grumbling as he turned the maddening sound off, sitting up and moving away from his desk. The prodigy rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, feeling something in his mind tugging and tears in his eyes, but to what he was not sure. The answer seemed to be the dream, but he couldn't remember what it was about, a memory that so easily slipped through his fingers. ' _I guess I lost the dream. What it was about again…?_ '

His eyes caught the sight of a new little invention he had been working on. ' _Oh well_.'

* * *

Tadashi was happy, so very happy. He was walking with his little brother to school, just like old times. They hadn't done this since Hiro graduated from high school. For most of the week, this was the thing that made him excited. It felt like things were going his way, but today, Hiro did not seem as pleased, discouraging Tadashi's good mood and expectations of usual banter and teasing. His prodigy of a brother had a gloomy air around him and his eyes were distant. As the walk went on, the elder brother got more and more concerned for the younger and the silence forced him to wonder what was wrong.

"Hey? You okay?" Tadashi asked, putting his hand in Hiro's. The younger's eyes blinked, snapping out of his daze and looked to Tadashi curiously.

"Oh, sorry." Hiro replied, running a hand through his hair as he cleared the fog in his mind. His frown deepened and he put up his bear-eared black hoodie before tightening his hold on Tadashi's hand. "I'm not feeling great today."

"Physically or emotionally?" Hiro chuckled at the mimicry. Tadashi smiled, pleased with his brother's happiness. "You need to stop pouting, little bro."

"I'm not pouting."

"Mulling?"

"No."

"Brooding?"

"I don't brood!" Hiro exclaimed, face scrunched in playful irritation.

"Then what's going on?" Tadashi said less jokingly. Hiro's face fell and he looked ahead of him. He lowered his eyes.

"I…don't know." Hiro put a hand over his heart. "I feel-"

"Hello, Hiroshi, Tadashi." The brothers looked turned to see a familiar, tall, dark haired student with golden eyes. It was that guy who was looking at Hiro on his first day of school and was hanging around every now and then. The aura around this person was serious, back straight and hair greased backwards, yet somehow playful, holding a smirk and a look in his eyes that always seemed to portray ulterior motive. While Tadashi looked at him in suspicion, Hiro gave the man a smile in greeting.

"Hey."

The man's eyes became more concerned and he lost his smile at Hiro's unenthusiastic response. "You seem out of it today. Where's that spark that was in your eyes when you set fire to Professor Aquino's wig."

"Heh, heh, I'm having an off day. It's probably stress. And that was an accident." Hiro replied with more energy this time, trying to make the other not worry as much and defend himself. The student's golden eyes narrowed further, however.

"Don't put too much on your shoulders, Hiroshi. You'll only hurt yourself."

"Thanks for the advice." The two smiled warmly at each other while Tadashi only frowned, his distrust growing as he was left out. He tapped his little brother's shoulder for attention.

"Um, H-Hiroshi?" The name rolled oddly on Tadashi's tongue.

"Hm?" Hiro tilted his head.

"Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Ryuichi. He's in a couple of my classes."

"I'm working for my business degree, but I dabble in science. Technology is making the world move faster. I think it's important to understand how it works if you want to use it properly." Ryuichi added.

"Translation: money, money, money!" Hiro said mockingly. Ryuichi gave him a disapproving gaze. Tadashi was frowned further.

"Even a businessman has a heart." Ryuichi said defensively yet calmly.

"True as that may be, that doesn't change the fact that your need to make too much money is turning the majority of businessmen into psychopaths."

"That's not going to happen to me." Ryuichi said defensively, crossing his arms and turning away. Hiro smiled perceptively at him.

"I'm sure you will. You're very smart and mature!" Ryuichi's cheeks had a light pink in them, earning a deepening frown from Tadashi. The blushing male looked parted his lips to say more, but the beep of a watch startled the group. Ryuichi looked at his watched and grumbled something to himself.

"Ah, I should go. I'll see you around, Hiroshi." he said, turning back to the two brothers before rushing off southward.

"See ya."

Tadashi watched as they waved goodbye at each other. When his eyes finally settled on Hiro, he bit his lip. His brotherly protective nature was putting needles in his heart to fill it with worry and insecurity. He was scared for Hiro, who seemed way too comfortable with this seemingly shrewd and sadistic stranger. Being a good big brother, he knew he shouldn't confront anyone without more information…

"So…do you two…hang out a lot?" Tadashi asked slowly, trying to find the least provocative words.

"…Not very much. We only talk when we happen to be in the same room." Hiro turned his attention back to Tadashi, his chocolate eyes reading his brother's pair. He seemed suspicious of his brother's attitude at first, but then gave his brother a sly smile as he came to a silly conclusion. "What's wrong? Worried a big bad wolf is going to take your little brother away?" he teased. Tadashi didn't take it as a joke, however.

"Yes. Big brother is very concerned." Tadashi said seriously.

Hiro chuckled a little and started walking again. "Haha, well, don't be. I'm sure he wouldn't do anything to me. If he does, I'll just knock him all the way to Akuma Island."

Tadashi groaned as he worriedly watched his brother's back move further and further away from him.

* * *

Today seemed to be an off day for everyone. When lunch came and Tadashi met up with the guys, he found Fred with his head in his food while Hiro and Wasabi were lost in thought, looking tired and not in the moment, apparently not noticing the brunet's predicament. Tadashi frowned as he placed his food on the table and took his seat. He looked one last time at everyone before deciding Fred really needed to wake up.

"Um, Fred? Come on, wake up." Tadashi shook the brunet's shoulder gently, noticing that his friend was stirring at his call. Fred groaned before noticing his pillow was very mushy and lifted himself up, looking around before stopping on Tadashi blearily. "Hey, you okay?"

"Argh, yeah. I was up all night trying to figure out my powers." Fred replied as he stretched, joints clicking into place. Rolling the stiffness off his shoulders, he wiped the pasta off his face, sauce still left behind. "I just can't seem to do it…" Fred muttered worriedly. Tadashi offered him everyone's napkins, a brow rising as Wasabi and Hiro made no acknowledgement of what he did, poking at their food.

"You know, if Gogo were here, she'd tell you guys to woman up, and Honey would want you to cheer up." Tadashi stated to them. Upon being addressed, the two on the other side of the table blinked, awareness seemingly returning.

"Huh? What?" Hiro muttered confusedly. Wasabi just chuckled in guilt.

"Sorry, I was thinking about that fight we had with Seishin last week."

"What about it?" Fred inquired as he put the dirty napkin on his plate, the brothers' attention following with him, Hiro now fully back in reality at the mention of his arch-nemesis. Wasabi seemed conflicted on what he should say to express himself. He left silence in the group and it got weird after five seconds. The prodigy tilted his head.

"Seishin is a troublesome fiend, isn't he?" Hiro said, guessing that this was what Wasabi wanted to talk about.

"U-Uh yeah, he is. A-And dangerous. I wish there was an easier way to catch him."

"Usually, it is pretty easy, but Baymax is unable to collect any data from him, so he can't find him with his scanners." Hiro pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sigh, I wish I knew how he's blocking it. Even in my own timeline, health scanners were useless against him. I had to follow one of his robots that escaped just to get some idea of his location." He removed his hand to reveal his sour face of frustration and worry, crossing his arms. "Another thing that troubles me is how much he can do with his powers. Clearly, he has had a lot more practice than me…"

"H-Hey, Dad said you're doing great! And Heathcliff is happy with how smoothly you use your powers! And you fought pretty great a few days ago!" Fred said encouragingly, wanting to cheer his friend up. Hiro shook his head at the last sentence.

"He was just playing around. He seems to enjoy tormenting me…"

"And that's my job." Tadashi remarked. Hiro rolled his eyes at him.

"You can quit anytime you want. Anyway-"

A loud boom was heard, scaring everyone in the cafeteria. Hiro immediately stood up, head turned towards the building where the lab was located. He turned his narrow chocolate eyes to his comrades' wide ones quickly, an aura of authority replacing his tired concern.

"We should go!"

* * *

When everyone arrived at the lab, after changing into their costumes, they found a large chunk of earth sitting in the hallway and Seishin's rock soldiers lifting 3-D printers. Some students had been forced into a corner of the room by the villain himself. The group of heroes were mad. This was their turf. No one was allowed to treat it this way. Hiro and Tadashi were particularly grumpy because Seishin had smashed their office to get in, a large hole where a beautiful window used to be.

Hiro was the first to act, a plan already in his head. His eyes glanced at Gogo's disks in the recycling bin and had them fly at Seishin. The villain's eyes widened in shock under his white mask and dodged, forced to move away from his hostages and watched them become protected by a fence of yellow. Distracted by his annoyance, he was unprepared for the black microbot fist that sent him flying into the schoolyard. The indigo hero was about to go after him, but his violet clad brother stopped him.

"Hiro, no! You're still injured! Leave him to us!"

"But-!"

"No, promise me you'll stay here!" Hiro's face became a lot more pleadingly cute. However, Tadashi was far from affected, instead becoming stricter.

"But-!"

"Promise!"

"…Alright, I promise. I'll get the rock soldiers out and protect the school, but please be careful, guys." Hiro sighed in frustration and resign at Tadashi, scratching his hair. The elder brother just let out a grin in response before putting on his helmet.

"Will do, Iris!" Fred exclaimed as he and the others left. Hiro grumbled at his nickname, muttering that he isn't a flower, and turned to his anger outlet.

It was a synch to destroy the rock soldiers whose sole purpose was to carry things, no fighting spirit put into them. With a flick of his finger, his microbots destroyed the pieces of rock and stuffed them into a garbage can before returning to their controller and making a long black cape. He then opened his disk fence and encouraged the students to go home. As they left, he moved to the big hole in the office wall, watching as his brother and friends fought Seishin, whistling in awe as Baymax joined in to save Wasabi. He nonchalantly used his microbots to bat away a stray boulder heading his way and looked at Seishin with narrowed eyes. The villain seemed to return the look, adjusting his mask.

"What's wrong, little hero? Scared to play with the older kids?" The indigo hero was hardly affected by the words.

"Sorry, big bro says I'm grounded." Hiro leaned onto one leg, crossing his arms. "They seem eager to play though."

An enflamed punch went Seishin's way and he barely dodged, making Tadashi grit his teeth. But the violet hero didn't let that get to him and threw a blazing kick. Seishin made a tower beneath him, shooting himself into the air and making Tadashi hit earth. This didn't let the villain catch a break, however, as Fred had jumped to his height and Tadashi followed him with his thrusters.

"You're playing with fire, villain!" Fred exclaimed and unleashed his flamethrower. Tadashi shot his own flames. The two effectively covered their opponent in red-orange.

When they stopped a moment later, they saw a heated sphere of rock, protecting its manipulator inside. Baymax then flew in with a scared Wasabi in his hands. The red armoured robot then let go and the green hero fell towards the tower, activating his plasma blades. He cut just under the sphere before Baymax caught him in mid-air. The heroes watched as the villain in a ball fell to the ground. With lack of anything happening, the team thought that they did it and landed, but the second they did, earth soldiers started rising like zombies in a graveyard.

"Well, that plan didn't work!" Wasabi exclaimed.

Hiro narrowed his eyes, hands flexing and constricting over his chest in restraint, repeating the promise he made to the others, to reinforce his belief in them. But it was hard to stay on the sidelines when things weren't going too well.

* * *

Things slowly got worse. In the chaos, Seishin broke from his defence and knocked Wasabi out before destroying what was left of the grassy courtyard with his powers. A wave of earth knocked everyone off their feet and a group of rock soldiers appeared in its wake. Fred was quick to get Wasabi away from danger, but when trying to defend them, the brunet found that his flamethrower was not as powerful on its own, having no effect on the soil that refused to crumble. Baymax was having the easiest time out of all of them. With great strength and a rocket powered fist, he was the main reason Hiro wasn't being overrun with opponents.

Fred eventually had to retreat to Hiro's side, laying Wasabi on the floor. Turning back to the war happening outside, he wanted to team up with Tadashi, who was doing relatively well, but could use a boost. However, that didn't happen as Seishin turned his attention to the violet clad hero. Tadashi grunted as he was pushed into the ground and held there by the villain. Seishin tilted his head curiously.

"I don't remember you…" Seishin said. Soil started covering Tadashi, moving like vines as they tried to restrain him. The purple superhero's eyes widened in realization and muttered before thrusting out of the hold. He shot a ball of fire at the man in white, but it didn't work. Gritting his teeth and enflaming his gloves, he proceeded to use close combat on the villain. Seishin, having more muscle and fighting experience, dodged every attack. Not even any flaming kicks were working. He frowned as he caught one attack that came a little too close by the forearm, something striking at him. "Wait…are you the big brother?" The man with the white mask twisted Tadashi's arm, careful to avoid the fire as he restrained him. "Hmm, fighting doesn't suit you very well."

Tadashi's eyes narrowed. "What?!"

The hero of fire made his flames stronger and bigger to force Seishin to retreat. He then got up and backed away from the villain a bit. He was confused. What was this guy going on about? He was great at fighting, even taught Hiro his karate moves when they were younger. Thankfully, Seishin decided to clarify, but with a very sadistic and evil smirk.

"You invented the healthcare robots, right? Heh, no wonder your punches are so gentle. Your mind and body are holding back because they don't really want to hurt others. You're careful, but not feral. You're selfless, but not strong enough to put your ideals on the line. Hiro wants the same things as you, but unlike you, he can back them up. He's had the mindset even as a kid, always thinking of the next move to beat his opponent. You think about everyone and that distractions and care is your weakness. You're not a fighter for the frontlines. You're the supporter that should be in the background. Have you even fought someone before? Honestly, how do you expect to save people with so many weaknesses?" Suddenly, Seishin was right up at Tadashi's face. "How do you expect to protect _him_ from _me_?"

With that, he hit Tadashi in the gut, hard. After the new her let out a pained sound, he passed out, falling to the clay ground and lying on his side.

"Tadashi!" Hiro screamed. He glared hatefully at Seishin as Baymax rushed to get Tadashi's side, the villain jumping back, moving behind his few remaining soldiers. The indigo hero glared hatefully at the white clad scoundrel. "Why you!"

The dark blue prodigy unleashed a tsunami of microbots right at the twisted scientist. The white clad maniac smirked pleasingly and created his own wave of earth, the remaining soldiers molding into it as the tide formed high in the air and folded towards the microbot user. They expected to clash. They wanted to clash, no matter what destruction came in their wake.

But it never came to that.

Menacing, glowing blue landed on the wave of black, making the two watch with surprised eyes as it stood up scarily. They realized that ghostly radiance was coming from Fred, his fists curled with anger. He wasn't going to stand for this guy who was hurting his friends any longer. And this call to protect his friends and stop this person had allowed Fred to access something he never could when he was filled with comical joy. Almost instinctively, Hiro snapped out of his astonishment and moved his hand commandingly. The wave moved down and Fred yelled his war cry.

"Fredzilla Smash!"

Warily, Seishin curved his wave over himself protectively, thinking that would be enough, but it shattered easily under Fred's powerful blow and Hiro's microbots continued the attack towards Seishin. The masked man gritted his teeth and decided he should retreat before he sustained serious injury and got caught. Dusts of soil created a smokescreen at the command of his hands, making Fred and Hiro hit nothing. Microbots lifted the monster dressed comrade higher, the technopath hoping the other could see something.

He couldn't, even when the smokescreen was gone.

Seishin had escaped.

Hiro released an angry noise, but then sighed in resignation. The school was safe now, though people were going to have fun redesigning the courtyard. As Baymax landed next to him, Hiro frowned worriedly at the unconscious Tadashi and Wasabi. His mind nagged at him, scolding him for not taking better care of them, but also got angry at them for not being careful like he asked. Making his microbots pick him and the green hero up, he listened as Fred cheered in the sky.

"I did it! I did it! Woo-hoo! Yeah! I am Fredzilla! And I have mastered my special move!"

Hiro failed to hold back a chuckle as Fred jumped high with his shouts and poses. The technopath made his bots tap the comic lover for attention, nearly making the guy fall off in surprise.

"Come on!" he shouted mid-way in the air. "Let's get these two to a bed!"


	21. Chapter 21: Green

**Chapter 21: Green**

"And then! And then! I landed on the microbots!"

Tadashi groaned in his dark world. ' _Too loud. Too loud_.' Grumpily, he opened his eyes and blinked multiple times under the gold and white lights. He immediately noticed Baymax's large form beside him. The healthcare robot was tying the knot for some bandages over his stomach. Tadashi narrowed his eyes as his they over trailed the multiple layers of white, trying to remember what caused it. When the memory did come to him, he sat up abruptly, only to cry out in pain and lie back down and grab everyone's attention. Hiro, Fred, Stan and a groaning Wasabi came into view. His little brother leaned over him intrusively, but the elder brother didn't care. He grabbed the younger's face and looked over him frantically.

"Are you guys okay?! What happened?!"

"Fred and I chased Seishin away." Hiro said awkwardly in Tadashi's grip, his cheeks pressed to look like a fish. When he tried to get out of the grip, his brother just cuddled with his head like he was a stuffed bear. He grumbled at the closeness as Fred jumped onto Baymax to get into the group.

"Hey! I wanted to tell the story!" Hiro gave Fred an unhappy look.

"You told it five seconds ago. Doing it again would be redundant. Also, it would take all night." Tadashi turned on his side and put his chin on Hiro's head. The prodigy's chocolate orbs moved towards his brother, concern projecting in their light. "How are you feeling?"

"G-Good. A little disappointed in myself though." Tadashi said, tightening his grip. Hiro frowned, but not as concerned as before.

"It was your first fight, you'll get better."

"Hm, still…"

"I can give you some lessons, Tadashi." Stan suggested kindly. Tadashi let go of Hiro and smiled at the old man.

"Thanks, I'd like that."

* * *

" _Hiro, can you look at these for me?"_

 _A voice deep with warm, a sound that makes him want coffee…Bruce…_

" _Oh, hey! You feel like meditating today?"_

 _Wise, yet so spirited like tea. Aang…_

"Hiro, are you all right?"

Movement shook the darkness away and the time traveller groaned at the disturbance. Hiro opened his eyes and saw Heathcliff leaning over him with a gentle hand on his angelically soft blanket covered shoulder. The prodigy grumbled as he sat up. A yawn escaped him and he had to rub the resulting tears from his eyes.

"Good morning, Master Hiro."

"Morning, Heathcliff. Thanks for waking me up." The butler nodded straightened his back, his hand retreating to his body.

"You're welcome. Which hoodie would you like to wear today?" Heathcliff asked, moving towards the closet.

"I don't have a preference right now." Hiro stretched, trying to wake up his joints.

"It will be raining sometime this afternoon, so you're going to want something with at least a bit of water resistance in case you get caught in the storm." Hiro watched tiredly as Heathcliff took out a black hoodie with shiny scale patches on it and spikes on the hood. The dragon hoodie. He nodded, seeing some logic to it. Still dazed, he ruffled his hair as his mind drifted to the dream that didn't really sink in, but he felt it was the same as another one that had happened recently. He felt a little odd when he thought about it.

"Master Hiro, are you alright?" Hiro blinked and noticed Heathcliff standing next to him.

"A-Ah, yeah. Sorry." Heathcliff tilted his head, but seemed to resign to Hiro's lack of explanation, lowering his eyes and putting the selected clothes on the nightstand. As he started to leave, Hiro realized he had something, but kept forgetting, to say.

"Hey, Heathcliff?" The butler stopped and turned.

"Yes?" Hiro gave him a sad smile.

"Thanks for always taking such good care of me, for always helping me…and I'm sorry. I never seem to explain myself to you."

"It is quite alright, Master Hiro. But you should really speak your mind more."

As Heathcliff left the room, Hiro looked back down, staring at the red shirt beneath the black, his mind drifting to the past.

"I used to be good at it…"

* * *

Wasabi moved slightly and uneasily as he watched Hiro attach something to the green armour of his suit. He stared in narrow eyed wonder as Hiro struggled to get the small object to stay. Minute after minute of waiting, and with Fred out on patrol with Baymax, the bandana wearer decided to look elsewhere for a distraction.

Naturally, the most interesting thing was Tadashi and Stan fighting outside the observatory room of pleasant safety. Wasabi was extremely happy to be inside rather than outside. The fight was chaotic, flames running rampant, and Wasabi could not for the life of him understand why Stan wasn't wearing any protection gear. And yet Tadashi's best efforts were for nothing. He couldn't get a single hit on the former hero. It would seem Stan's confidence was justified as he clearly had the upper hand. With some godly level of experience, Fred's father was expertly dodging and hitting with controlled minimal strength, his blue aura moving behind him like stream.

However, despite Stan's jaw dropping fighting skills, Wasabi could still sense that Tadashi was getting better. In six days, the violet hero had gotten faster, seemingly never taking a moment to stop and attacking at what felt like every two seconds. ' _Just how much practicing have you been doing, Tadashi?_ ' Wasabi wondered out of worry for his friend, watching as Tadashi skidded back after Stan palmed him backwards. He sweat dropped when Stan fell to his knees, rubbing his back in pain, and Tadashi started rushing to take care of him like a nurse, switching professions in a second.

"Finally!" Wasabi flinched at Hiro's sudden exclamation, gaze averted towards the prodigy and let out a shout of surprise. Hiro ignored the almost feminine scream and held the green armour up to his friend. "Try it on!"

The bandana wearer looked at the armour again, and then worked the protection over his body as Tadashi and Stan entered the room, rushing towards the nearest chair. Once he locked it on, Wasabi's eyes glued to the new device on his upper back. It was a matching green and about the size of his large hands. He wondered what this thing was for.

"Well? How does it feel? Do you think it'll hinder your movements?" Hiro asked teasingly. Wasabi rolled his eyes back to the prodigy in exasperation.

"No, I don't think so, but what is it?"

"It's a mini 3-D printer for making mini plasma blades." Everyone raised a brow at Hiro and his pleased smile. The smaller boy then went behind Wasabi and pressed the sides. A small object popped out and Hiro held it up for everyone to see. It was a tiny hilt. And when Hiro waved his thumb over a green orb, the plasma blade appeared. "Call them plasma daggers." Hiro said as he handed the dagger to Wasabi carefully.

Wasabi looked down at the new weapon and then suspiciously at Hiro's excited expression, the cute look begging him to try it out. The bandana wearer forced himself to look away and placed the small device on the nearest surface. "I'll test it out another time."

"Aw!" Hiro pouted.

"Don't 'aww' him, knucklehead. Last time I checked, this place wasn't plasma blade proof." Tadashi said, trying to bring back his brother's common sense.

"Urgh, fine." Hiro crossed his arms. "But, you know, if you're too careful, you can't learn anything!"

"But if you're not careful, you can cause a lot of damage." Wasabi pointed out with a sweat drop. Hiro waved his index finger dismissively at him.

"It's about balance, Wasabi. Nature is built on it, and therefore, so are we."

"I…don't get it."

"Well, it's just-"

"Are you making things up? That makes absolutely not sense." Tadashi interrupted.

"Urgh, whatever!" Hiro looked away in blushing embarrassment and muttered. "Drat, Aang is rubbing off on me." Everyone looked at each other curiously then back to the time traveller.

"Uh, Hiro, who-?"

" _Guys! Seishin's soldiers are attacking the north and south of the city!_ " Fred yelled through the communicator. " _Uh, what do we do?!_ " Hiro was quick to reply with a serious face.

"Got it! Okay, Wasabi and Tadashi, you guys fight the ones in the north. I'll help Baymax and Fred in the south. Keep an eye out for Seishin. Who knows what that guy is planning…"

" _Alright then! Big Hero 7, move out!_ "

* * *

They weren't sure how well it was going with Hiro's group, but on Wasabi and Tadashi's side, things were not going very smoothly. They didn't really have a strategy in mind, so they more or less just did their own thing. Tadashi used thrusters on his forearms to enhance his punch and switching to flight mode to dodge, leaving his singed targets who were having trouble recovering because of it the black burns. Wasabi cut down a soldier and avoided another. Soldiers kept coming after him as if perceiving him as the more dangerous threat that needed to go. He groaned nervously at realizing this.

" _Hey. How are things on your end?_ " Wasabi and Tadashi heard Fred's voice over the communicator.

" _Our side finished rather quickly_." Hiro added.

"What?! Really?! Shouldn't they be trying to recover?!" Wasabi replied, putting his right fingers on the comlink.

" _No. They fell apart when we hit them_." Baymax said calmly.

" _Quite relaxing really_." Hiro added, pleased.

"Ours aren't doing that!" Tadashi remarked and flew into the air to avoid getting overwhelmed. He shot the ones right below him with a fire ball.

Hiro went silent before replying in a grave tone. " _That must mean Seishin is close to you. He must be able to see you guys if your soldiers are fixing themselves_."

"Seriously?!" Wasabi and Tadashi yelled in disbelief. Hiro and Fred groaned.

" _Ow, my ears_."

"S-Sorry."

" _Uh-huh_."

The earth shook once more and everyone in San Fransokyo braced themselves, some screaming in fear or surprise. The group of heroes turned when they heard crumbling landslides and saw a giant pushing itself out of the mountain. They couldn't believe their eyes. Was Seishin really doing this? Just how much power did he have? It left most of Big Hero 7 speechless.

"Uh, Hiro, things just got worse." Tadashi said. In the second of silence, everyone sense Hiro's apprehension.

"… _Finish your end and then meet us there as soon as you can_."

Wasabi and Tadashi nodded to themselves. Splitting the work, the two worked to defeat the soldiers, who had stopped regenerating since the mountain monster formed, left in deformed or incomplete states, almost like a twisted science experiment gone wrong. When none of the soldiers would move anymore, Wasabi and Tadashi took a few seconds to regain some energy before they would make their run. It was in this tiny moment, when the two were just about to leave, that Tadashi saw a flash of white changing from one place to another in the corner of his eye. It made the violet hero turn with wide eyes, his gaze glued to where he saw that shade of colour.

"Aren't you coming?" Wasabi asked.

"I thought I saw Seishin…" Tadashi bit his lip as his comrade flinched. He looked the green hero in the eyes as he continued. "You go help them, I'm going to try and find him!"

"Wha-?! Wait!"

Tadashi didn't seem to hear Wasabi, making the green armoured hero watch his back disappear in the maze of buildings. The bandana wearer looked back and forth between the giant and where he last saw his friend. Reluctantly, Wasabi started to back away and move toward to the edge of the city, choosing to let his friend do what he wants despite his uneasiness. His friend always meant well and wouldn't do anything crazy, or at least he shouldn't. Walking turned into running and Wasabi disappeared from the area.

* * *

Wasabi gawked as the mountain soldier finally stood up, albeit very wobbly. Of course, that last bit worried him as the image of it tripping into a person filled building filled his head. He quickly looked for his comrades, but he couldn't see them. Either they were doing something or they were further away than he thought. It was up to him. The bandana had to do something, or at least knew he had to do something. Action was eluding him. What could he do? What was his plan?

As the giant monster started to move towards the city, leaning to take his first step out of the forest, Wasabi's blood chilled, his speed slowing down as he turned on his plasma blades. But as he got closer, the giant felt bigger and the green hero slowed. He tried to take off the monster's leg, but it didn't work. It wouldn't completely cut off like it would on a regular rock soldier, only leaving a black mark. The rock was too deep and thick and wouldn't let him get all the way through.

It was useless.

Backing away, unable to tear his eyes away from the monster towering over him, he…felt so small, insignificant in the face of this huge problem. ' _How the hell can I defeat this on my own?!_ ' The ground shook and forced Wasabi to look down as he got on one knee, trying not to fall. His heart was beating at what felt like the speed of light. Who was he kidding? He couldn't fight. He happened to get into the superhero business by accident. It was everyone else's idea, not his. He just wanted to be supportive, not get killed.

A shadow loomed over him and Wasabi's eyes widened in realization. He rushed to get out of the way of the impending giant foot. He narrowly got away and waved his arm at the sudden feeling of falling. The still glowing blade hit the giant because of the motion, but it only left another singed scratch. Wasabi whimpered at how little damage his blades could do now.

Suddenly, black chains appeared and wrapped around the mountain monster's limbs, stopping it from going further. When Wasabi heard raging thrusters, he saw Fred and Hiro riding Baymax, all of them soaring through the air like wind. Hiro shouted something incoherent and the other two obliged. The red covered robot threw a flaming blue Fredzilla, yelling his war cry, and sped up, arm extended as they rammed and punched the enemy with full force. The giant fell unsteadily back into the mountains, the microbot chains forcing it backwards. Some of the trees attached to it broke upon impact. Hiro, noticing the attack wasn't enough, quickly ordered the microbots to tie it up and keep it down. Fred landed powerfully on the giant like a meteorite and tried to use his power again to destroy it, but to no avail. As Fred continued his assault, Baymax then noticed Wasabi on the ground. The healthcare robot gently landed beside the bandana wearer and allowed Hiro to get off.

"Thanks, Baymax." Hiro said gratefully.

"I will now help Fred." With that, the robot blasted off to karate chop the giant's shoulder. The mountain soldier then started to try to get up and Hiro had to strengthen the microbot grip, hands extended and coat tails pulsing waves under his heightened power.

"Where's Tadashi?" Hiro's voice conveyed the tussle he was in at the moment, closing his eyes and arms shaking, but still having the mind to think about others.

"He thought he saw Seishin and went to look for him!" Wasabi said fearfully. Hiro's eyes went wide and turned to regard his friend, but he ended up losing his grip and he had to turn back, closing his eyes once more and shaking much more visibly. The giant looked like he was about to break free from the black chains. The indigo hero gritted his teeth.

"He-! Argh! HE BETTER NOT BE TAKING THAT GUY ON BY HIMSELF!" Hiro slammed his hands to the ground as he yelled and the mountain soldier let out a loud moaning cry as it was forced down under the increasing squeeze of black microbots. Wasabi stepped back, hands up defensively at the scary younger sibling. He then turned away. All this pressure made dark thoughts start to fill his mind. Biting his lip, he refused to voice his concerns this time, not sure what was right or wrong inside his own mind. Eventually, however, his heart started to hurt and one of his thoughts unintentionally came out.

"I'm a little scared he is…" Hiro opened his eyes in surprise, tilting his head slightly at Wasabi's solemn tone.

"H-Hey, let's just defeat this thing and go find him before he does something stupid then…" Hiro said encouragingly, giving a small yet silly smile. But Wasabi's silence made frown. "Hey, what's the matter with you? A-Are you okay?"

Wasabi looked back at the time traveler, showing his conflicted face to him. "I just….I'm…Argh, what am I doing here?"

"W-What?" Hiro said in disbelief.

"When this started, I just wanted to help my friends, I wanted to save the professor, a-and we did that! But I was just along for the ride! Now things have just gotten out of control! There's a psychopath on the loose! People are traveling from a post-apocalyptic world! We are trying very hard to stop the destruction of this one and Tadashi, the friend I was initially trying to help, is now throwing himself in danger! Everyone might die! And I can barely do anything! What's even my purpose here?!"

Hiro's brow furrowed further and further as Wasabi ranted, silent in contemplation as he stood up. Closing his eyes, he thought about his friend's words. He had not thought this situation was putting that much pressure on the others. His mind had perceived that everyone was okay with fighting like in his timeline. Clearly, however, that assumption should have applied to a Wasabi with more experience in these intense situations. It wasn't just strength of the body that need to be addressed. He took a deep breathe.

"…I get that."

"Huh?"

"I didn't understand my purpose in Big Hero 6 at one point. I was just a fourteen year old kid whose sole power was inventing. You guys, you were amazing. You were the perfect fighting team. But I couldn't fight, not back then…I was weak." Hiro looked at Wasabi with sad eyes and then looked away with guiltiness. "But you guys showed me that I do matter. You came after me when I tried to go to the sidelines. You said you did need me, that I was the one who..." Hiro drifted off, a serene smile on his face from remembering something lovely, hand moving to caress the happy feeling in his heart. He seemed to glow and Wasabi watched intensely. Was this the feeling Hiro held for everyone in this team? "From then on, I wanted to be like you guys, strong, wise, perfect…I'm sorry." Wasabi was taken aback. Hiro gave the bandanna wearer that guilty look again. "I didn't mean to put so much pressure on you. But, Wasabi, I know you're scared. I know you're questioning yourself. But I need you to know that we do need you, and we are here for you. You're not just along for the ride. All of us need to be together to fight crime. We're strong when we're together. Everyone on this team is important."

The green hero was silent, taking in the speech. Confidence, even in this dire situation was returning. He didn't feel alone. He didn't feel like he was being dragged around with no choice. No, he was here because they needed him and he wanted to be with them, to help others and do the right thing. They cover his weaknesses and he covers theirs. That's why they were all here.

"Now, what do you say? Want to listen to the plan I have?" Hiro asked, sensing some form of metal stability returning to his friend.

Wasabi smirked and leaned his ear to the indigo hero. Hiro whispered to his comrade. And thirty seconds later, Wasabi was running and Hiro was instructing over the communicator.

Upon reaching the giant, who was trying to get his arm out of Hiro's hold, the green hero reached behind him and pressed the plasma dagger maker multiple times. Fred approached him and Wasabi handed the brunet a share of the daggers. From above, Baymax observed the giant soldier and compared his diagram of human anatomy with that of the rock monster.

" _I recommend we start with the shoulders_." the red hero instructed, noting how those limbs were the most dangerous.

"Fredzilla will handle the left!"

"And I'll handle the right!"

" _Whatever! Just do it! I feel a headache coming on!_ " Hiro cried out to his comrades.

The two rushed to their respective locations, quickly turned on their plasma daggers and stabbed the giant. It was small, but the concentrated heat of the plasma made the enemy moan as it turned it lava red and spread, nearby grass turning black. As the blue and green heroes moved to the next location, the giant struggled harder, forcing the indigo one to hold tighter. But the giant did succeed in getting its right arm out, forcing Hiro to scream and Wasabi to grab hold of a tree.

"Whoa!" he cried out. Seeing the giant hand above him, Wasabi jumped and threw a plasma dagger at it, successfully making the blade get stuck in a crack. The mountain monster bellowed as it burned its hand and microbots reattached themselves on the forearm. With that slight crisis averted, Wasabi went back to putting plasma daggers in the correct pressure points.

When everything was ready, many daggers in many joints, weakening the monster considerably, they charged. Baymax gained distance in the sky and then soared down like an angry swallow. Fred jumped as high as he could a flared his blue aura, summoning his maximum power. Wasabi jumped as well and activated his plasma blades.

"Tempest Assult!" Fred yelled. And all four of them crashed onto the mountain creature, hitting it with their strongest attacks. With one last strangled cry, the mountain creature finally fell apart, crumbling back into its origins and Hiro let out a sigh of relief as he let his power stop.

Everyone looked to each other with a smile on their faces and cheered just as the rain started to pour.

* * *

Tadashi stopped running to give himself a break. Panting, he checked the area, carefully and slowly. He went over every detail in the hopes for a clue. Rain started to pour and Tadashi's frustration grew with every drop that hit him. The vision on his helmet was becoming impaired as the rain fell harder. Walking into an alleyway, the violet hero furiously wiped the water off his visor as he tried looking for the evil time traveler once more.

" _Hey, Tadashi! We defeated the mountain soldier!_ " Fred said excitedly. Tadashi flinched, startled. He halted his search to respond to his comrades with tired, yet pleased amazement.

"Great job!"

" _Have you sustained any injuries?_ " Baymax asked. Tadashi chuckled at the healthcare robot's sweet concern.

"No, Baymax, I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

" _Any luck with Seishin?_ " Tadashi looked around once at hearing Wasabi's question.

"No, I couldn't find him."

Hiro hummed on the other line. " _He's probably fled by now. I don't know what he's trying to accomplish with this attack, but this victory will have to do for today_."

" _Can we get out of the rain, please? My suit is riding up on me._ " Wasabi interrupted. Tadashi fidgeted in his place, looking up at the sky momentarily.

"Okay. I'll meet up with you guys at Fred's place."

" _Alright. See you then_."

Tadashi nodded and shut off his side of the communicator. He then turned, moving his head left, right, behind, front, searching one last time. His brown eyes heated in frustration and then looked down at his hands. They were shaking. Was it out of weakness? Fear? Anger? Quite frankly, he wasn't sure which it was, but it worried him. All he knew was whatever this feeling was, he wanted it to stop. Taking off into the skies, Tadashi's thoughts lingered on Stan, training, and how to defeat Seishin. He needed to be stronger still if he wanted to protect everyone. He looked up with eyes or resolve.

"I'll get you next time, and I will stop you."


	22. Chapter 22: Yellow

**Chapter 22: Yellow**

Tadashi sat in his health class, eyes narrowed as he flexed his sore fingers. All his practice with Stan was getting harder to maintain. His body wasn't used to so much moving and now it was asking for a break. ' _I should've brought some ice_ …' Tadashi thought to himself as he felt his leg shake. ' _A session with Baymax is in order_.'

The teacher switched her slide to a diagram of the human body and a skeleton. As she pointed to different areas, Tadashi started thinking about Hiro. It had been three weeks since Hiro's ribs became bruised and Tadashi was probably more relieved about that than the younger was. The elder brother felt terrible for being the root cause of it and that injury had put Hiro in danger every time Seishin appeared.

However, this also meant Hiro would now be more involved in their fights. Tadashi pinched his forehead, thinking about his worries and irremovable fears. He knew they were irrational. Hiro had been fighting a long time. He could take care of himself…right? A little voice of doubt took over the thinking. Tadashi had barely any evidence to support his confidence in Hiro. Between the technopathic abilities (which just give him headaches) and one moment of karate (which ended abruptly because of the agitated injury that was Tadashi's fault), Tadashi was finding it hard to see Hiro as strong and his worries remerged in a whole new way. He knew this feeling wasn't right, but how could he stop it?

The professor looked at her phone for the time and then announced that it was time for class to end. As she reminded students about an upcoming assignment, Tadashi started packing his books. Once finished, he walked out with the rest of the students. He was pretty much done for the day, which meant he could get into costume and become Sunfire…' _Drat, I accepted the nickname_.' Tadashi's face turned exasperated, grumbling to himself. ' _We should really be fighting harder for our own nicknames_ …'

Continuing on his way, trying to come up with something better the whole time, Tadashi's face changed again when he saw Hiro with Ryuichi at the exit. The taller male was close, very close, like he wanted to reach out and hold his hand close to his little brother and this rang warning bells in the elder brother's mind, which went into complete panic when that golden eyed man brushed his brother's arm. Tadashi wanted to march up and push Ryuichi away from Hiro. But once he took one harsh step, the left hemisphere of his brain interjected.

What right did he have to do that? The younger boy was almost his age, not fourteen, not a little kid irresponsibly botfighting. Hiro was old enough to make his own decisions. This person was all grown up. He could become the greatest scientist in the world. He could beat up Ryuichi is he chose to. He could be with whoever he wanted. Besides…

…this wasn't really _his_ Hiro.

The left and right sides of his brain argued, internal yelling trying to persuade Tadashi to a certain action. Neither side came up with a definitive statement that would help Tadashi make an easy choice, but in Tadashi's heart, that considerate part of him, reminded him that he didn't want to cause trouble. He didn't want to hurt Hiro with his opinions. To display no faith in someone can cause them to lose faith in you in return, and Tadashi didn't want that. And so, as Tadashi let his body move back and turned to a different exit.

* * *

When school was over and he finally got away from Ryuichi, Hiro rushed home (Fred's mansion) and went straight to the garage. On the way, he saw Tadashi in the front yard and quickly greeted him before dragging his older brother with him. The taller male cried out in surprise as he staggered behind the smaller, letting himself get literally pulled into the excitement.

Hiro placed his brother in a chair and pulled out Tadashi's suit from his bag, some notebooks falling to the concrete floor. The elder brother complained, but the prodigy made no acknowledgement of hearing it. Instead, the time traveler hooked the purple suit to his computer, its stats appearing on the screen. His fingers glided over the numbers and lines, checking something and smiled brighter in approval.

"I can't believe I didn't see this earlier! I am so out of it." Hiro scolded himself and peeked Tadashi's interest, looking up from the books he was picking up. The baseball cap wearer watched as his genius brother turned to a different screen, waving his hands over it to make adjustments to the blueprint. Feeling like a child watching his parents work, he decided to try and get some information as the younger brother started typing, too excited to remember to give an explanation.

"What's going on there, genius?"

"Finally figured out how to keep the circuits from blowing if you used your thrusters and weapons at the same time." With one final tap on the keyboard, Hiro rushed to the 3-D printer, pulled something out and grabbed a few small cables.

As his little brother started tinkering with his suit, Tadashi started thinking in his spot in the room. A part of him was relieved, his power would be more efficient, but it reminded him that he was still very weak. He still had yet to beat Seishin. He had been hoping to end all this trouble last time with the giant, but lately, they have only been stopping robbers or a runaway cable car. Every time the call came in to save someone, Tadashi was filled with thoughts of Seishin. Everyone else was just having fun stopping crime, but the violet hero's impulses were preventing him from joining in, always looking around for more signs of danger. ' _I miss the old days when heroism was defined by stopping Hiro from botfighting_.' Hiro's light steps towards him made Tadashi look up and see his purple suit, which now had some blue lines connected to the thrusters, forearms and thighs.

"Here you go." Tadashi took the suit back with very little energy and very silently. The air around him seemed gloomy, causing Hiro to tilt his head in concern and reach out to touch his brother's shoulder. "Hey? You okay?" Tadashi blinked at the question and stood up, Hiro's hand backing away to avoid getting hurt at the sudden movement.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm going to go find Stan and test this out." When Tadashi was gone a second later, not even giving the prodigy a chance to explore further, leaving the little brother behind, Hiro started to feel empty and cheap.

"All right…That was…odd." Hiro looked down sadly, extended arm lowered lowering. There was no praise or thank you for the tech, only going straight to the training. Even if the tech wasn't for him, Tadashi usually expressed some sort of excitement or approval. Tadashi was the whole reason Hiro used his brain for something other than selfish reasons and he was always happy to see his brother smile in congratulations for a good job. He was never so serious, monotone, and distant. That was when Hiro was suddenly aware of a gap between them and immediately became uneasy. ' _When did that get there?_ ' he wondered.

When he arrived at the training room, Hiro watched as his adjustments worked perfectly and how Tadashi was adapting to it just as smoothly, wondering what was going on with his brother.

* * *

When the weekend came, and school was done for the week, Big Hero 7 took off into the streets. Tadashi and Hiro were in the forest, investigating the mountain to make sure there were none of Seishin's soldiers. There weren't and the mountain was more or less back together thanks to the rain, no evidence that a giant had emerged from it, except for the destroyed and buried trees. Baymax was surveying from his usual location, the tallest building in the city. Wasabi and Fred were together near the port, the green hero in charge of making sure the blue one wouldn't do anything stupid. Of course, that didn't stop Fred from saying silly things, such as singing a superhero theme song. Tadashi and Wasabi raised a brow as the 'epic' song was sung in a not as epic way.

"I don't think we'll find anything here. Let's go back." Hiro said, standing back up and not at all paying attention to the brunet's song. A strong wind came and the indigo clad boy felt like he was going to be carried away into the air. He groaned and walked down the mountain to get away from the gale, his hair and coat tails getting messed up. Tadashi followed after him and helped his little brother untangle himself while Fred changed his song. But after an hour of this, one of the group finally snapped.

" _Fred, if you don't stop, I'm going to chop your action figures in half!_ " Wasabi groaned aloud over the communicator.

" _What?! No! They're innocent!_ "

" _So don't do things that make me want to cut your toys like pie!_ "

" _They're not toys! They're superheroes!_ "

"Sounds like things are finally escalating over there." Hiro remarked, straightening up from cleaning himself. Then he smiled in cheer. "Yay!"

"Hiro." Tadashi reprimanded and stood up.

"I know, I know, but I've heard that song a thousand times. Whenever it comes up, I can't help but feel internally tired. However, once the fighting starts, it's like watching TV at work!"

"You're not supposed to have this much fun at work." Tadashi remarked.

" _I'm insulted_." Fred said.

" _I'm aware_."

" _I don't think you understand how much. Superheroes, motionless or not, don't deserve this treatment_."

" _But supervillains can do it without this kind of talk?_ " Wasabi pointed out.

" _Superheroes are too humble to point it out!_ "

" _What are we even talking about right now?!_ "

Hiro chuckled a bit, simply relishing in Wasabi's distress. Tadashi only looked disapprovingly at the younger brother. Strong and smart, yet so incredibly childish. He expected it, but it still made him sigh in annoyance. ' _Why can't my brother be a bit more mature? He's almost my age. I expected him to be more like me at this point…No, that's not right. I expected him to be a little more like me_.' Hiro continued to smile when some hitting and cries on the other end could be heard. Tadashi's shoulders hunched. He was the only sensible one in this mad, mad world.

Suddenly, screams and crashing was heard on the other end, and it wasn't coming from their friends.

" _The downtown area is being attacked._ " Baymax informed.

" _Yeah, we know. We just saw it!_ " Fred added. " _We're going to check it out!_ "

There was a moment of silence as the three heroes waited for the other two to report. They could hear many worrying sounds, but from them, the group could assess that someone was injured, someone was cursing and someone was screaming.

"We need your help! Especially Baymax!" Wasabi called. "It's Seishin! He's trying to steal something again and this time we've got blood!"

"We're on our way!" Hiro replied quickly and turned to Tadashi. "Come on!"

Hiro's microbots and Tadashi's thrusters came to life. The indigo hero traveled from building to building as the violet one flew at full speed, catching the eyes of some of the more diligent in the city. In the distance, they saw Baymax fly down and a minute later fly to the hospital with someone in his arms.

Tadashi, being faster, was the first to reach the scene of the crime. Fred and Wasabi were doing their best to fend off rock soldiers as people ran away. He saw Seishin on a building, looking over everyone with great visibility. The violet hero gritted his teeth and rammed the villain from behind. It caught Seishin off guard, but he had the earth catch him before he fell too far. After beating the last of the soldiers, the three heroes gathered, glaring as the villain kept himself high and away from them.

"Just three? Ha! You can't touch me. You'll need a whole army if you are to have any hopes of stopping anyone. I-"

Suddenly, shiny black morphed into a fist and hit Seishin hard in the stomach, knocking him into a boutique's display booth, breaking the glass and manikins. Everyone turned to look at Hiro speechlessly, who had a rather bored look in his eyes, but you could still see a twinkle of enjoyment behind them. Fred went up to him, strangely panicky.

"Did you just punch a bad guy during his monologue?!"

"Yeah, so?"

"Superheroes aren't supposed to do that! Seriously! It's the rudest thing in the world!"

"But I don't want to hear anymore villain speeches! I've heard too many already! Besides, they always disrupt my sentences. I should give them the same luxury."

"We're supposed to have the moral high ground!" Hiro quirked a brow.

"In terms of manners? We kick butt for a living."

"You're disrupting the order!"

"Now you know how I feel." Wasabi commented.

"Guys! Look out!"

At Tadashi's call, the other three were suddenly aware of the hunk of concrete coming their way. They jumped out of its trajectory and saw Seishin emerge from the building, picking out some glass that got into his arm. He looked at Hiro disapprovingly.

"Your blue monster friend has a point, little Hiro. You should show more respect."

"I'm not going to give respect to people who want to destroy the world." Hiro retorted, crossing his arms. Seishin scowled deeper and dodged Fred's fire attack, throwing the concrete boulder at the annoyance, only to see it be sliced like sushi by Wasabi. He let out a 'tch' and glared at the blue and green heroes. The villain didn't even notice when Hiro made his attack and tried to punch the daylights out of him with a hard microbot covered arm, but his instincts were fast enough to make a wall in defense.

"This isn't even our world. What do you care?"

"It's not mine, but it's still important to me!" Hiro said on the other side. "Everything in this place matters to me!"

Hiro hated that Seishin even had the nerve to ask. He hated that this man never seemed to get it. He hated how this man was always seemed to be comparing them. It unnerved him to no end. How did this man always find the things that would make a shiver go down his spine? But it seemed that Hiro too could get under other people's skin. Seishin lashed out and the earth shook with his anger, making a crevice open under Wasabi, causing the bandana wearer to fall and for Fred to rush to save him.

"That's because you have everything you've always wanted! Why should you get your dead ones back and I have to suffer without _him_?!"

Hiro wasn't sure how to refute that. A part of him knew that was true. It wasn't fair. But it wasn't fair that Bruce, Sam, Ash, Aang, and all the other people in his post-apocalyptic world had to suffer and die. Hiro's heart panged in heartbreak at suddenly remembering their faces, the last time he saw them. This gave Seishin the chance to grab Hiro by the leg with his geokenesis and pulled, forcing Hiro to lose his footing at the concentration he had on his technokenesis. He screamed in distress as the ground moved and chained him in place, wrapping around his wrists and chest and squeezing tight. He gasped as it became harder to breathe.

The grip stopped getting tighter when Tadashi swooped in like an angry swallow. He had thrown an enflamed punch at the villain, which had been dodged, and flew next to Hiro protectively. Seishin and Hiro could not see his face, but from the body language, they could tell he was raging mad, especially with a flamethrower aimed at the opponent.

"Let Hiro go _now_!" The white clad villain sighed in great vexation.

"You're back? I thought you learned your lesson." Seishin grumbled, eyes glancing at Hiro before looking back at his new headache. Those eyes turned very dark and murderous with killer intent. Tadashi was unable to stop himself from flinching.

Seishin took off to the sky on a tower of rock and Tadashi followed after him. Hiro had cried out to them, watching as fire was blocked by rock and fists were avoided. Tadashi was fast, but Seishin could predict any move he made. Hiro incoherently called both of them idiots from the ground. It frustrated Tadashi that he was still doing about as well against the villain as against his teacher. The only difference was that Stan was retired and had a back pain weakness, and Seishin was fit and causing chaos wherever he went. Many chunks of earth started to float and they flew towards Tadashi like arrows. The violet hero gritted his teeth and dodged each one of them, but they just came right back at him like missiles.

Tadashi had to fly away, all of the rocks following him. From Hiro's point of view, it was like looking at multiple comets and his brother was leading the way, only much more terrifying and much less beautiful. Seishin's frown turned into a smirk. He was pleased upon gaining the upper hand and used this opportunity to make more chunks of hard earth join in the manhunt. It didn't even take five minutes before the chasers overwhelmed their prey and Tadashi was hit in the leg and gut. Seishin was then right in front of him, loving the dazed brown eyes.

"You had more purpose when you were dead."

Seishin made all the rocks hit Tadashi at once and they crashed into the street. The violet hero groaned. Nothing was broken, but he was pretty sure his back was going to hurt tomorrow, feeling the thrusters pushing against his back uncomfortably. Seishin landed and walked over.

"Tadashi!" Hiro struggled futilely and tried to call his microbots. Seishin noticed this and quickly took Tadashi into a headlock.

"Try anything and I'll break his neck." the supervillain threatened.

The microbots froze, mimicking Hiro's state of mind as the technopath started to freak out. Hiro's heart beat pounded on his chest and he started to hyperventilate, wide brown eyes glued to Seishin and Tadashi's choking and struggling form, to hurt and out of it to try anything. His throat felt dry and his mouth was open in silent scream. His panic was not aided when Tadashi's tech started to spark in reaction to his powers. Fred, Wasabi and Baymax, who had just returned and were heading over to help, gasped as they started to feel the electricity in their suits start to move. They had never felt that before. Sparks were now heard and electricity could be seen. Baymax was frozen, unable to move or control himself. The situation was about to approach catastrophe.

"Now then, Hiro, you're comin-"

Thankfully, an unexpected saving grace came to save the day.

Before Seishin could complete his sentence, a ball of yellow rammed into the supervillain, seemingly having no control but with great speed. The evil time traveler was knocked into the same building as before and Tadashi was caught by a hand. He was yanked and dropped next to Hiro unceremoniously. The four boys and robot blinked their wide eyes, unable to believe what just happened in seemingly half a second.

The yellow stopped and everyone recognized the small, but strong figure before them, even from the back.

"You guys got weak in my absence…" Gogo turned to them coolly and popped her gum. "Woman up, you idiots!"

* * *

 **Happy Halloween, everyone!**


	23. Chapter 23: Orange

**Chapter 23: Orange**

"Gogo!" the boys exclaimed cheerfully. "That was so fast!"

"Yup, it's perfect." Gogo purred in delight.

"Thank goodness you're back! We've really been struggling without you." Hiro said in relief.

"Gogo!" Everyone turned to the source of the familiar but tired voice. Honey Lemon, dressed in her pink and orange suit, slowed in her running, panting when she stopped in front of the yellow hero. "Don't leave me behind again, please." she added breathlessly.

"It's not my fault I'm fast." The honey blonde groaned in frustration and fell to her knees, taking deep breaths and letting her aching legs rest. The others looked at her sympathetically as she caught her breath. It wasn't until Gogo and Hiro went up to the pink and orange hero that Tadashi noticed something interesting.

"Hey, why are your disks so…glossy?" Tadashi asked. Gogo and Honey Lemon looked to each other and smiled. The pink and orange hero straightened herself, energy rejuvenated. Gogo put her knuckles on her hips.

"Honey, time to show the fruits of your efforts."

The taller boys looked to each other questioningly, but Hiro seemed very pleased. The pink and orange hero excitedly pressed some of the buttons on her shiny purse and a shiny dark blue orb emerged. Before anyone had the chance to ask what it was, she threw it at Fred and it exploded. The blue hero cried out in surprise and was covered in smoke. Hiro backed away, not wanting to get caught in it.

"Uh, what's this?" Wasabi asked warily.

"If Hiro freaks out, our tech might get destroyed, so I made a chemical that will negate his powers. Don't want my purse to blow up and destroy the city…" Honey Lemon touched her purse, thin fingers feeling the new glossy texture in reassurance. When she found out what happened in the future, how she and everyone else died, she had worn her purse with wariness. She wanted to prevent it. And now, she could move with confidence. She made another dark blue orb and threw it at Baymax just as Fred's area cleared. The brunet jumped up and down animatedly.

"Woo-hoo! I'm shiny Fredzilla!"

"Hurry and pass me a master ball. Gak!" Honey Lemon had thrown an orb towards Wasabi, who coughed and fell over from lack of preparedness. The group heard his landing and Baymax's steps.

"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"

"One." Wasabi grumbled.

"I'm sorry." Honey Lemon gave the green hero an apologetic smile, pressing her index fingers together in guiltiness.

As the smoke cleared, they could see Baymax helping Wasabi up, the two of them now shining, the healthcare robot almost sun like in his glossiness. It hurt to look at him. ' _He should be called Sunfire_.' Tadashi thought absentmindedly and looked away as the other boys started to complain loudly when Baymax angled his body in a way that harshened the light, trying not to go blind. His brown eyes glazed Honey Lemon before turning back to her. She had another orb and was looking right at him, patiently waiting for his attention. Tadashi relaxed and nodded slightly. Honey Lemon smiled in acknowledgement, feeling good that she wouldn't scare Tadashi into tumbling down. She lifted her hand and tossed the chem ball at her friend and it exploded. In the puff of smoke, Tadashi could see nothing but the blue. When he lifted his hand to his face, he could tell that the texture was changing, like it was being polished. When the smoke cleared, he too started to shine in the sun, brightly despite the dark purple colour.

"Thanks, H-"

The crushing of glass made the group silent, turning apprehensively towards Seishin. The tall man stomped another foot on the ground and the glass cracked again under the pressure. He groaned as he regained his bearings and glared at Gogo. She smirked in response and turned the rest of her body to him, readying herself for a fight. The others followed suit, glaring at their opponent.

It was seven against one.

The odds were definitely in their favour.

Naturally, Gogo was the first to attack, followed by her eager blue comrade. She turned herself into a ball of speed and Fred burst into his blue aura. Seishin saw Gogo coming and, perceiving her as the more dangerous threat, shielded himself from the fast incoming blow with the earth. It burst out of the cement just in time for him. Gogo was only able to make a small crater, still spinning at sonic speed in place. But Fred's attack knocked the villain and his shield down the street, rolling uncontrollably until he eventually stopped.

When Seishin felt the stop, he got up and made the fragments of his shield shoot in all directions, trying to cause any damage out of anger. Those same fragments then rose in response to his emotions again and he ordered them to attack the group. Each one was deflected or destroyed by Baymax and Wasabi.

The villain growled some curses under his breath and started calling for the earth again. But an invisible force punched him. His eyes widened and he staggered back, completely surprised. A kick made him have to regain his footing. When another kick hit him, Seishin grabbed the invisible leg, hearing a gasp. He smirked and threw the leg towards a building, hard.

There was a scream in the air and the yellow hero came to catch the invisible Honey Lemon. She did and there were apologies after hitting the brick wall. Two boulders were thrown their way, caught by microbots and then thrown back. Seishin moved over to dodge them, but came in Fred's range. The white clad villain barely dodged the blue glowing fist and microbot hand that came after him. Sweat dropped from his forehead as his mind tried to find a solution to this overwhelming team up.

The solution came when Hiro took a step forward and Tadashi came blasting down from the sky. Seishin avoided the flaming punch and the fist collided with the ground. A wave of fire burst and the villain towered himself to the sky to avoid getting burned. The other superheroes had to dodge as well and that was really inspirational to the evil time traveler.

Seishin moved, seeing if Tadashi would follow at the change of distance. The superhero did with a flaming left hook. The villain playfully dodged each attack that Tadashi threw at him, either moving to the sky or to the ground, his erratic movements making it difficult to predict his movements and let the others give proper assistance. For each physical attack, Seishin would move away, gaining distance from the rest of the group, and for every flamethrower, the villain would manipulate the terrain. Eventually, Tadashi had become separated from the group. Whether he was aware of it or not was unclear, but he was alone now. Before anyone could react, a giant wall encircled the villain and the violet hero.

"Tadashi!" the group cried out. But there was no reply, only a flame shooting up into the air and a maniacal laugh before the earth curved into a dome. The indigo clad hero gritted his teeth and examined the barrier. So Seishin wanted no one ganging up on him, separating them to pick them off one by one and Tadashi was being rash enough to fall for it. Hiro decided, fearfully, to suggest the simplest solution.

"Wasabi, cut that thing down!"

"Uh, right!" Wasabi rushed to the wall and tried to cut an entry with his plasma blades, the earth melting like lava. Once he finished his imperfect circle with a dissatisfied groan, he kicked the piece of earth down.

And he was greeted with a ball of flame, his eyes moving to portray his surprise.

Baymax pulled the bandana wearer away just in time, but relief in the group was brief as the offending stray flame hit a building. They flinched, watching the furniture burn. Honey Lemon squeaked and threw an orb. With the flames extinguished in wet goo, a shared anger filled Gogo and Hiro.

Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Fred and Baymax watched as the other two entered the dome, blocked off by deep darkness. There were shouts and sounds of fighting echoing from within the shadowy space. They could only listen and wait uncomfortably, looking to each other for ideas what to do and twiddling their thumbs. After a moment, Seishin was knocked out of the dome, gasping as the impact made the rock crumble against his back, and he was still in the air after being violently expelled.

Hiro went after the villain, his microbots led my small yellow disks, hitting his opponent in the air like he was a ball. The red, blue, green, and pink heroes watched the scene for a second and turned away from it when they heard footsteps coming from the earth dome. Gogo was dragging Tadashi by his year, yelping at the harsh tugs. She let go and stretched her arms.

"He needs a time out to cool down." she said crossly. Tadashi rubbed his ear and grumbled.

"…Uh-huh."

A crash took their attention back to Hiro and Seishin, who was now lying unconscious in his cradling crater. Everyone was wide eyed at the unmoving figure. Was it…over? Hiro planted his feet on the ground triumphantly, letting out a held breath, eyes glued to his defeated nemesis. It was over. After four years, it was finally over. He had never been so relieved in his life. His microbots started moving around the villain, ready to restrain the white clad devil and take him into custody.

Five shots and a cry made Hiro pause in his victory and turn away. Baymax was covering everyone, red armour singed with five black marks. Hiro gasped and widened his eyes. Another shot was heard and those wide eyes spotted the white plasma coming his way. Shiny black covered it and a small bit of it got through, but it only cut a strand of hair. Hiro didn't know what to think about what just happened, but as his mind went numb in shock, his microbots went limp and the moving motorcycle could be seen. On the vehicle was a very familiar face, only with no mask, only less wrinkled, only younger.

"What the-?! Two Seishins!" Fred exclaimed. He and the others were dumbstruck.

The newcomer raised his brow and just kept going. He grabbed his twin, draping the other over the motorcycle and drove off before everyone's minds had a chance to catch up, leaving Big Hero 7 in the dust and wind of his speed. Everyone went up to Hiro, worriedly. With Baymax in his view, the indigo hero snapped out of his shock, an issue moving to the back of his mind for another. The prodigy started checking over his red armoured frantically.

"Baymax! Are you okay?! Everything intact?!"

"My body has sustained no injuries. However, my armour may need reinforcing." Baymax revealed his back, showing Hiro the damage. Where he had been hit was no longer shiny, huge black dents making the time traveler forcefully hold his fear back. If he panicked now, who knows what damage could be done because of any possible exposure. His abilities might slip through and break something important. He backed away and tried taking deep breaths. ' _Focus on something else, focus on something else, fo- Wait_ …' The air around Hiro suddenly went cold and everyone felt a shiver go down their spines.

"Tadashi, what the hell was that?!" Hiro growled. Tadashi was confused.

"Was what?"

"What the hell were you doing taking that guy on by yourself?!"

"I was trying to stop Seishin." Tadashi growled back, but more calmly. ' _What's with him?_ '

"No, you weren't! You were fighting like an angry chicken against an axe! That was crazy, and not the good kind of crazy! Were you even thinking?!"

"I was doing my job. Tadashi defended himself. "Stopping the bad guy."

"Our job is to protect lives! You almost hit Baymax and Wasabi!" The prodigy sounded much more panicked with that last part, making one of the persons flinch at being part of the argument. "That was much too reckless! And what about you?! You could have gotten killed!"

"Isn't that the point?! What's my life against thousands of others?"

"We're supposed to protect _all_ lives!" Hiro threw his hands into his bangs, turning away and putting distance between him and his brother, wanting to get away before he slaps the idiot into unconsciousness. "What's going on? You're supposed to be the mature one."

Tadashi crossed his arms and glared. Hiro was acting like he was in the wrong and that was making him mad. The violet hero started to feel other feelings rise up with his anger and he had to force himself to keep that part of him down, slightly proud that he was proving the indigo hero wrong. But he was still going to defend himself.

"I am. But you are certainly making it difficult, knucklehead."

"Excuse me?"

The older brother turned his back, refusing to say more.

"Tadashi." Hiro's voice was layering with levels of growling anger in warning. Tadashi still refused to speak and emphasized that point by starting to walk away. But after five steps, the violet hero felt something grab his leg. He looked down with wide eyes before the microbots hoisted him into the air.

"Hiro!" Tadashi barked.

"What's the matter with you?! Explain. Now. _Big Bro_."

Tadashi did not like the way Hiro referred to him. It wasn't playful or innocently mocking or loving. The negative tone amplified the feelings Tadashi had recently suppressed. It came out as a growl and the activation of his suit. Wings of flame forced him out of the microbot grip. Hiro flinched when some of the bots broke off and fell. He retaliated by trying to catch Tadashi again and when that failed, the two were in the air, fighting. The others watched helplessly from the ground, their cries going unheard.

Hiro placed himself on a tall building and had his microbots swirl around Tadashi like a swarm of bats. The small pieces of black started closing in on the violet wearer, trying to cage him in a ball of black. But it is hard to catch a flying target.

Tadashi blasted away again and shot fire at the fly like machines. Hiro growled, wanting to protect his tech, but morally unable to. If he made them dodge, by that angle, another building would catch fire. The microbots held their ground and took on the attack. Very few of the bots overheated, thankfully, and Hiro had them push through and disable one of the flamethrowers. He would have gotten the other one had Tadashi not moved his hand back and blasted away again.

An uppercut got Tadashi in the chin. He floated to the side and touched the throbbing spot. Hiro must have been pretty mad if that attack was so powerful that he could feel the impact through his helmet and stun him. With it, Tadashi found no energy to hold himself back anymore.

Not wanting to give Tadashi a chance to use it again, Hiro unleashed an onslaught of microbot attacks. Tadashi gritted his teeth, dodging and knocking away the annoying spears of black. Even when he tried to get away, he was still getting attacked. His little brother was following him no matter where he went, sometimes with hands, sometimes with a simple wave. It was incredibly difficult, yet he was still going. Tadashi would have been proud of himself for lasting this long had this been a spar against Stan and not a battle against his seething brother. That was when a thought hit him. ' _What am I doing?_ '

The microbots grabbed Tadashi and slammed the flyer to the ground. The teen in indigo jumped off the building and landed softly thanks to his microbots. Groaning turning to roaring, Tadashi enflamed his fists and made the heat short-circuit the tech, allowing him to shove himself out of the grip and stand up. The brothers seemed ready to start round two until their friends intervened, coming between them.

"Guys, stop fighting!" Honey Lemon cried out, arms extending to protect and obstruct their view of each other.

"I'm not letting him walk away without telling me what's wrong." Hiro said angrily, the microbots moving behind him like conscious black magic. Tadashi glared at his brother. He had had enough of this.

"You want to know what's wrong?! Fine! I'm scared I'm going to lose you!"

Hiro gave his brother a perplexed look, anger slowly dissipating from the confusion. "Huh? What? Why would you lose me?"

"You're not little anymore. You're fighting, you're going up against people who want to hurt you, strangers and villains whom I've never had to deal with before! You're living a life so much more dangerous than before and I feel like you're going to leave me behind. I'm trying to be part of it again." Tadashi's voice was starting to break, pacing. "I'm trying to be strong, but it's just not working..." His footsteps were getting erratic with every word, gaining his teammates' sympathy, until he abruptly stopped. "I don't want to lose you again." He looked back at Hiro. Tears welling in the corner of his eyes could be seen under the visor. Hiro stepped back. "And even then, you're not really my Hiro."

"Tadashi…" Stepping forward, arm lifted slightly, the little brother returned the sad gaze with a more comforting one, shaking his head. "I am your Hiro, no matter what time, no matter what universe."

The brothers stared at each other for an unnaturally long time, brown eyes conveying their sincerity while the other pair checked every detail behind his helmet. Suddenly, Tadashi started moving back, shaking his head and breaking the gaze. Hiro clenched his fist as Tadashi blasted away. Head hung low, Hiro turned his back to his fleeting brother. Biting his lip, he too took off.

"Hiro!"

"Tadashi!"

"You knuckleheads get back here!"

As the four friends called for the brothers, Baymax turned his head to both of the retreating figures. He scanned them, calculating. Honey Lemon looked to her friends worriedly.

"Oh no. What do we do?"

"Hiro and Tadashi need friends and loved ones. We should go to them now." Baymax blasted off like a rocket and started following after Hiro. The others watched him disappear.

Gogo put a hand on her hip. "He's right. Let's leave Hiro to Baymax and go after Tadashi."

* * *

Tadashi found a good alley to change back into his casual attire. He joined the crowd on his way home and held his solemn expression, even when he snuck passed the café and went up to his room. He passed Hiro's empty side of the place quickly and went to his bed, slamming the barrier to his room. He collapsed onto his bed, face in the pillow.

He said it. He fought his brother. He said it. He fought his brother.

The elder brother started scolding himself internally. He shouldn't have fought back, but he also thought he shouldn't have spoken out like that. He should have controlled himself better. Tadashi groaned. Hiro didn't need to know his internal turmoil about all this. He should just be happy that he was seeing Hiro at all. He could have been more of a team player. Was his fear really so powerful?

The baseball cap wearer heard a knock and the slider open. He turned his face and saw his friends at the door. Tadashi blinked slowly, marron orbs trailing Honey Lemon as she approached him. They were silent, only the sounds of multiple footsteps being heard. Everyone looked to each other calmly, and the honey blonde sat on the bed, quietly raising her hand. She placed it on Tadashi's shoulder and rubbed circles on his back.

"I…I still-"

"Your motives weren't wrong, neither are Hiro's…But you two should have communicated better. Then you would have seen that you don't have to worry about him, not like before." Honey Lemon said softly. Tadashi sighed.

"I wish I was-"

"You don't need to do everything alone. We don't want Hiro to go either."

Tadashi looked at her, considering, and then turned away. He closed his eyes, falling asleep to his friends' gentle touches.


	24. Chapter 24: Red

**Chapter 24: Red**

Hiro opened the door to the mansion harshly, the force making the door crash loudly into the wall, startling Stan and Heathcliff in the office when they heard the loud echo. The prodigy didn't close the door behind him. He was upset and no amount of flying was going to calm it. As he got out of his suit, the master of the house, the butler and the healthcare robot went up to him. He ignored them all, stomping up the steps to the upper floor. The abandoned three turned to each other.

"Baymax, what is going on?" Stan asked in concern.

"Hiro is upset."

"I'll get the gummy bears then." Heathcliff turned, closed the entrance door, picked up the discarded fabric and dutifully walked away, leaving Stan and Baymax to follow Hiro.

There was another slam, this time to close a door. Stan and Baymax headed to Hiro's room, sure that was where the prodigy went. The elder man gently opened the door. Hiro had flopped onto the bed, face buried in his pillow. Stan hummed and pushed the door more, entering the guest room with Baymax waddling behind him. Hiro heard their footsteps and turned to them, his messy bangs obstructing his view. He groaned and snuggled into his pillow once more.

Stan went to the bedside table and partially sat on it, giving his body some rest. Baymax squeaked like a balloon as he walked up and leaned over Hiro. The prodigy felt his space bubble being invaded and turned to them again. He groaned when Stan petted his hair comfortingly. Sighing, he looked at his audience in the eye.

"I am the worst leader." Hiro said miserably.

"You are not the leader." Baymax tilted his head. "You are our friend." That made Hiro smile slightly, his heart feeling a little lighter, but when he lowered his eyes, it quickly went away.

"Am I the worst brother? I-I feel like it. I sensed something wasn't right with Tadashi. I should've done something when he ordered you to kill Callaghan or when he started throwing himself into the training like a madman…Why did I not react to the signs?"

Stan rubbed the mop of hair a little harder and looked away from his guest, thoughts deep in analyzing contemplation. The man was silent for so long, that Hiro wondered if he was ever going to get an answer. Eventually, he hummed and spoke his mind. "…You have projected your idea of who your world's Tadashi was onto this world's Tadashi. They may look the same, but tragedy has made them very different, Hiro. You can't stick to the idea that Tadashi is one hundred percent okay when the you of this world is gone. Were you alright when your Tadashi died?"

"No…I wasn't. It hurt so much." Hiro buried his face back into the pillow. "Every time someone dies, it hurts, no matter how hard I try to bury it or move on. I do anything to relieve that pain, even hurting others." The boy's eyes landed on the healthcare robot sadly.

"Then it is likely that way for Tadashi."

The conversation fell into silence as Hiro bit his lip, thinking about those words. Was that what was going? Was he really so selfish…? Hiro groaned loudly and slammed his face into the pillow. It was true. That was definitely what he was doing, choosing what he wanted to see and choosing to act like it was all okay, including himself, and he could not be more disappointed in his actions. The troubled boy hugged the pillow tighter.

"I'm such a bad brother." he said in agony, muffled by the collection of feathers. "How could I do this to him? My brother is tearing himself apart and I'm ignoring it."

"Sometimes, when people see bad things, they will want to stay out of it and hope it'll sort itself out." Baymax stated, tilting his head at Hiro as he tried to be helpful.

Hiro lifted his head and lowered his eyes. He remembered when it all started. When Tadashi died, the prodigy would just stay home, away from the world, from the school he worked so hard to get into, from the first friends he had ever made thanks to his brother. After months of wallowing, he started to want to avoid the feelings, and it came in the form of Yokai. It just hurt so much, that when a distraction came, he enthralled himself in it, looking at what he wanted to see, and not at what was most important. He had pushed down the dishevelled feelings. But although, with Baymax's help, he found his way, he had gone right back to his old coping strategy in the face of these complicated and emotional conditions. Hiro scolded himself. He wanted to help his brother. He wanted to make this right. He would make this right! He would make this strange relationship work! But…

"I don't know if I can face him right now though…"

"Don't worry. You're a superhero, eventually you'll do the right thing."

* * *

Tadashi didn't see Hiro since that day, not even on the next superhero shifts. His little brother's excuse was he had to fix Baymax's armor, but that should have taken twenty or so minutes, not a whole day. Needless to say, any crime committer that day felt the frustrated wrath of Sunfire, their screams echoing even on their way to the police station. And when Tadashi went to Fred's garage or the training room, Hiro was still nowhere to be found.

The weekend was over now and school was coming back into their lives. Tadashi was riding his scooter, not feeling like walking or taking the street car. He carefully maneuvered around cars and people with expertise. He passed a newsstand on his way, noting that it went along the lines of 'Masked Man Strikes Again!' His thoughts on it lasted about as long as he had seen it, quickly thinking about Hiro again.

They were calm now. They should talk.

Making that his goal of the day, Tadashi turned into the SFIT. He had class with Hiro today, so it couldn't be too hard to corner him. That was the elder brother's thought when he parked and secured his scooter. It was not his thought when he walked up the stairs and saw something that caught a glance from everyone.

The first thing he noticed was Baymax standing along the sidelines, staring at something. When Tadashi turned to where the robot was looking, he saw Hiro's back was against the wall and Ryuichi leaning over him, long arm on the wall, blocking the smaller male's exits. The prodigy in a black sheep hoodie looked surprised, but the other's gaze was desperate and sincere with…love. Tadashi bit his lip. ' _Don't worry. He'll be okay. It's Hiro, he won't_ -' Blood went cold and he shivered. Ryuichi was leaning closer, eye lids lowering. Hiro seemed to know what was about to happen, but not knowing what to do about it led to no action or relaxing of his tension.

It was intensely slow, but their lips did connect. Ryuichi closed his eyes, enthralling himself into the kiss and placing his hands firmly onto the smaller boy's shoulders. It seemed to relay his emotions to Hiro, who started to calm down, cheeks blushing a deep red, and closed his eyes as well, but that was all he did. The kiss wasn't long, but it wasn't short either, the two not breaking no matter how many times Tadashi thought uncomfortably ' _Okay, you can stop now!_ '

When they parted, lips slightly open, the two opened their eyes. One pair was solemn while the other was inconsolably disappointed. Ryuichi sighed dejectedly and backed off, bringing a hand to his face and using the other to hug himself consolingly. Hiro said something, looked away and then turned back to Ryuichi with a stronger gaze. The golden eyed man responded, still hiding behind his hand as he shook his head. Tadashi tilted his head as the conversation continued, trying to interpret what was bring said by the body language. It ranged from begging to anger to sadness to acceptance. It ended with Hiro giving a shy smile and offering his hand. The golden eyed man smiled back, albeit brokenly, and took the hand, shaking it slightly. With a wave, they parted, Ryuichi going further into the building. Hiro watched him leave face turning solemn once more and about to turn to Baymax. Instead, the younger brother noticed Tadashi's worried, stiff form and blinked twice.

Tadashi took this as his time to approach and went up to his little brother. He would have said something the moment they were closer if he knew what to say. The two brothers stood silently, staring at each other. Eventually, with no progress, they choose to lean against the wall and stare at other students walking into the building. A group of friends from their class were giggling to each other and looking at them until they were gone. Hiro closed his eyes as his brother shifted uneasily.

"Ryuichi confessed to me."

"I-I gathered that."

"…I didn't…I couldn't return his feelings."

Tadashi turned to him with furrowed brows. "If it's because of m-"

"It's not you. And it's not him." Hiro said, annoyed. Tadashi frowned further and put his back on the wall again.

"Then what is it?" Hiro took a deep breath and looked at the sky.

"I simply don't think of him that way. Besides, I'm a free spirt. As if I could handle being tied down!" Hiro joked to lighten the mood, but it only made him laugh nervously and Tadashi flinch. Sensing that it didn't work, Hiro could only smile dejectedly at Tadashi's serious expression, lowering his eyes.

The two fell silent again, this time a bit more awkwardness in the air. Their eyes met once more, but they quickly looked away again. Facing each other was still hard, only having their overly worried thoughts to consult with. The giggles of some passing students were not the best distraction, but Hiro took it. For Tadashi, however, it only made him scrunch his shoulders out of embarrassment and the issue he stupidly had.

"You were never this popular in your previous schools." the elder brother muttered as someone looked at Hiro with a blush. The little brother frowned in embarrassment.

"Indeed, it's a new development for me…"

"Sigh, I wish you were still small and cute." That made Hiro straighten his back with an insulted look. He turned to his brother angrily.

"Wha-?! Hey, I resent that! I'm still cute and still small…d-despite wishing otherwise…" The little brother frowned and his posture deflated as he started to feel his other less spontaneous feelings. He slowly and stiffly returned to his previous position, his brother watching him with a small, amused grin.

Baymax watched to whole ordeal. He had hoped they would talk on their own, but at this rate, it would take a month just to get the awkwardness out of the air. The healthcare robot looked around before turning back to his patients. Every time someone passed, they closed off a little more with fast heartbeats, the words they wished to convey being pulled back. Thinking they needed a more private setting, Baymax took the brothers by the hand and led them away from the school entrance. The two staggered behind him, protesting and tugging all the way. After a while, they just reluctantly went along with it. What's the point in fighting someone who can lift one thousand pounds? So with deep frowns, Tadashi and Hiro found themselves being pulled towards the rebuilt campus. They barely had time to take in the lovely trees and flowers before Baymax located a picnic table in a secluded area and had them sit across from each other.

"To emotionally heal, you two must communicate." Baymax stated.

"Yeah, I know, I know." Hiro muttered and looked at Tadashi with his wide brown eyes.

Being face to face was making Tadashi even more nervous, remembering the last time they were together. He still wouldn't look Hiro in the eye and his face was pushed into a frown, scratching his head. Hiro's eyes lowered tediously. Baymax was right. They couldn't stay silent forever. Sighing, the little brother reached over and put his hand on his older brother's shoulder. The baseball cap wearer unwittingly looked at him, eyes on those unruly dark locks.

"Are you thinking about useless things again?" Hiro asked. Tadashi's face became sour and he looked away.

"Being self-critical is not useless, Hiro."

"It is when you do it for too long." The little brother folded his arms on the table, rethinking his approach. "…Stan said something interesting."

Tadashi raised a quizzical brow. "Oh?"

"He said that people only see what they want to see. I wanted you to be like my world's Tadashi, so I ignored your pain. I treasure you dearly, yet I didn't dwell on what my death would do to you and I didn't think about what my reappearance meant to you."

"That...makes sense…" Tadashi muttered. "I guess I still see you as the little kid looking for the next thrilling bot fight."

Hiro chuckled. "Oh, I still am. Don't think for a second that I'm not just because I'm older and cooler. You just developed more extreme ways of showing you care about me."

Tadashi smiled at the nice phrasing, letting the warm feeling move in his heart. Maybe talking here and now was the way to go. Feeling better, Tadashi wanted to conversation to continue. "The others think we need to communicate better."

Hiro looked at Baymax for a second before looking back at his brother. "Alright…" Taking the suggestion more seriously, the prodigy hummed thoughtfully, making his brother stare in wait and tilt his head at the cute face his brother was making. Closing his eyes, Hiro spoke. "You want to know the reason why I gave you tech with fire abilities?"

"Uh…"

"I did it to remind myself that's you're a hero at heart. You'll stupidly run into a fire to save your teacher, despite my protests. So while I can't keep you from my world, I shouldn't forbid it. You'll be there no matter what, be it for some stranger or for me. However… clearly I should have done it for a different reason." Hiro opened his chocolate eyes, love and conviction swirling in those sweet orbs. "Tadashi, when you look at those flames, think of me."

"Huh? But I already do that."

Hiro shook his head and gently placed his hand on his chest, looking at Tadashi more pleadingly. "No, when you fight, you think about my younger self, the one who…isn't here. That's why you're so focused on acting like a reckless idiot. You're thinking about the past. I need you to think about the present. I need you to think about _me_." Hiro said earnestly, cradling himself. "I can't go through your death again. It hurts when you get hurt. You need to think about yourself just as much as you think about me. Fire killed both of us. Let's rise above the flames of trauma so that we can be together with nothing holding us back."

Tadashi's mouth was slightly parted, eyes brimming with the moving words, wanting everything Hiro just said. Seeing that his brother got his point, Hiro sighed, eyes softening. "I thought you would get the message that you can come, but you have to be careful or people, especially you, can die." That last word made both of them flinch. Hiro shook his head and the feeling out of him, and tried to keep himself focused on what he wanted to say next. "I'm not asking you to be crazy cautious like Wasabi, but I want you to have the ability to know when the right time to act is. That last fight was horrible. I thought you were going to…die again…"

Tadashi looked down, remorse in his gaze. "I'm sorry, Hiro. I forgot about this. I was so focused on protecting you that I completely got absorbed and became irresponsible." The elder brother took a long deep breathe for what he was about to say next, clenching his fists for strength. "…When you died…I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I could only think about you. It left me in a daze where everything seemed to remind me of you and the hole my heart became bigger and void with each minute. I think at one point even tar reminded me of you." Hiro gave his brother a puzzled look, judging him on some level. But he couldn't think his brother as too ridiculous. He reacted very similarly in the beginning. Quickly erasing the look, he gestured for his brother to continue. Tadashi let out a secret breathe he was holding. "You know…I tried to save you."

Hiro blinked his eyes wide. "Huh?"

"We were in the building when the fire started and we got separated by debris. I was going to dig for you until my friends got me out just as the explosion came. I can't help but wonder what would've happened if I stayed." Tadashi put a hand on his temple as the memories came, clenching his other hand tighter until he had no more strength to. Hiro turned away out of guilt.

"…I had tried to stop you from going into the building, but you slipped from my grasp. I wonder every night what would be if I held you back just a little longer." Tadashi blinked a few times and put his hand back on the table. He looked down at his brother's moving chest.

"You're death was very traumatizing for me, you knucklehead."

Hiro rolled his eyes, looking at the large hands resting across from him, trailing every twitch and movement. "Your death was traumatizing for me too, you stupid brother…"

"So we agree to never do that to each other again, right?"

"Naturally."

Tadashi stood up and walked around the table, taking Hiro's hand and pulling him into a strong hug. Hiro blinked in surprise, but soon hugged back. He let out a happy sound, enjoying this familiar warmth very, very much. He could not hold back his smile. He was beaming like a summer sun. The elder brother put his head on his little brother's mop of dark hair. He too was wearing a delighted, serene face. Their eyes were closed, engrossed in each other's living warmth and grip on each other's being. But Tadashi opened his eyes after a moment.

"…Hey."

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry I died."

"…I'm sorry I died too."

Hiro snuggled into his brother's chest and Tadashi buried his face in the untamed strands. Internally dealing with their anguish of the past, they comforted each other with each other's presence, finding their new resolves and imagining their new brotherhood. They blinked in surprise and emerged their heads to see big snowy arms wrapping around them. Looking up cutely, they felt the weight of a metal head rest on them. The hands moved to their heads.

"There, there." Baymax said, patting the brothers comfortingly.

The two brothers smiled.

* * *

It felt like things were normal again. Tadashi was much more relaxed, and Hiro toned down his craziness in class to focus on encouraging his brother's demeanour. It was almost like before, when they were younger, albeit still awkward, considering their circumstances. Gogo and Wasabi were surprised at how they eased they were after what happened. It was a great relief to Honey Lemon and Fred when they all met up in front of the lab for a serious conversation.

"Oh, I'm so glad you made up! Our group just isn't the same when you guys are fighting."

"It was a productive counselling." Baymax said.

"Speaking of fighting, Hiro, who was that doppelganger?" Wasabi asked in concern.

"That was Seishin." Hiro answered with a straight face. The others looked to each other, very confused. Maybe he didn't understand.

"No, the other guy."

Hiro rolled his eyes. "Seriously, guys, that was Seishin, or the Seishin of this world. I guess they teamed up." The prodigy frowned in contemplation, mind juggling around other thoughts as he continued the conversation that made his friends want to hurl. "Let's call him Takehiko. It's his real name and will relieve confusion."

"Why haven't you referred to him as that before?" Gogo asked, intrigued by her observation. Hiro hummed.

"I didn't know his name until the dystopia formed. Fred had already given him his villain name by then and that's how I see him, a villain who's lost all empathy. He's not really human anymore. He's the ghost of one." Hiro nearly growled out the words, but the waves of hatred still lingered in the ripples. Everyone shifted uncomfortably. They had to agree, and quite frankly, it also made them nervous. Their problem had two supervillains now. It simply couldn't be good. Wasabi fidgeted nervously.

"Does the fact that they teamed up mean our problem is ten times worse?"

"He's not geokenetic, thank goodness, so that means our troubles are more or less five times extra work." Hiro replied again, brows furrowed in thought. His comrades looked fretfully at each other. Their knucklehead genius didn't seem to be worried about Takehiko or very focused on the conversation. They urged him to share his thoughts with their eyes filled with concentration and attention. Hiro looked back at them with bafflement, thrown off by their stares. Looking away to concentrate, he decided to indulge. "The bigger issue is this also means Seishin has been getting help from Takehiko. They've likely been working on the time machine together. Who knows how far into it they are."

That was serious. They already knew the situation was bad, but now it was dawning on them just how much uncertainty was in the amount of trouble. There were as many answers as there were unknowns. If they didn't come up with something, the timer was going to go off and the dystopian future would come again. The problem was some of those unknowns were where Seishin was hiding. ' _What to do?_ ' Hiro thought with a big frown.

"Do you think we can stop them?" Fred asked.

"I hope so…"

Wasabi leaned in. "…So what's the plan?"

"Easy. We figure out how he's blocking Baymax's sensors, and then we find him and lecture those two until their ears bleed!"

* * *

Seishin chucked his mask harshly at the wall, the piece of metal clinking painfully as it crashed and landed on the earthy floor of the unnatural cave. He growled as he went further into the dark lab, utterly enraged at losing to those children again, and this time actually getting knocked out. When he was in the army, his prowess was feared and his intellect was revered. These last few weeks had been nothing but retreats and loss. While deep down, he knew there was moral value in losing, but there was only so much of it he could take at once. Seishin's patience was at its limit.

The villain kicked a box of cables and unceremoniously sat in a chair, the seat rolling because of the force. Takehiko glanced at him, but didn't move, simply staying in his corner of the lab and typing a program onto his laptop with a stressed look. Seishin leaned back and crossed a leg over the other. Looking at his younger self, he tried to calm down. Thanks to him, they had small victories. Takehiko would sneak around and grab little things to help the project while Seishin distracted Big Hero 7, resulting in all the stuff they had in the lab, but this was not enough. They needed more, and they would have been much more along had they succeeded in hauling off those 3D printers. This method wasn't enough anymore. The sneakiness was just supposed to be a Plan B, not the unintentional Plan A.

Seishin's dark eyes looked at a small device he had made sitting on the metal table, his _Plan C_. His fingers caressed it lightly and his face changed into a diabolical smile. He admired the shiny white and imagined the way it would work, the wonderful way everything would finally come together. The villain chuckled and grabbed a screwdriver.

It was time to complete it after all these years.

' _Soon…Soon this will be complete and all will be alright_.'

* * *

 **Happy New Year, everyone!**


	25. Chapter 25: White

**Chapter 25: White**

It was a lighter tone in the coming days. Two days of easy heroism and teamwork had improved all around, the violet hero moving more in sync with his comrades. Tadashi and Hiro were also having more one on one time together, trying to forge a new bond that wasn't based on each other's dead selves. They would go to the park, or the tech stores, a café or whatever they felt like doing. In those few hours, they tried to learn more about each other, more about their feelings, and experiences.

They were a lovely two days, but on day three, something happened, many things happened. It didn't feel like it would go badly. It was so sunny that troubles seemed far away. Hiro and Tadashi had gone to the shopping district, which was being repaired, and very close to finished. They had come to see how they were doing, muttering small apologies.

Once lunch came around, the brothers went to a restaurant, sushi at Hiro's request, and took a seat. The waitress smiled at them, handed the menu, and then left them to get their drinks. Hiro and Tadashi looked over their options, figured out what they wanted and told their server, hands touching their hot cups of tea. They talked, they laughed, and they got their food. It was going as well as their previous adventures. It didn't seem like things would go wrong, right?

"Ah, it's been a long time since I ate sushi." Hiro said, making sure his black rabbit hoddie was out of the way before he took a bite of sashimi, saving his maki for later. Tadashi tilted his head slightly, but didn't lose focus on his own food.

"There's no fish in the future?"

"There is. It's just any meat is rare, mostly for protection reasons. The earthquakes and burning cities weren't kind to wildlife either."

As much as Tadashi wanted to ask further, he couldn't stop a tiny shiver racing up his spine. "I know not eating meat is good for the environment and such, but I just can't imagine life without Aunt Cass' spicy wings."

Hiro's chewing slowed to a halt and Tadashi realised his mistake.

"Uh, Hiro, she's doing al-"

"I know how she's doing!" Tadashi scrunched his shoulders at Hiro's loud voice, noticing some stares while Hiro's bangs blocked his view.

"She's better at handling herself than I wa-"

"I know she is, but I'm not. I'm not ready to home yet so drop it!"

Tadashi let out a little groan, both from embarrassment and regret. He should have thought before he spoke. But family was important to him, and it should be for Hiro as well. That fact made Tadashi start to wonder, touching his cup of warm tea. He bit the inside of his cheek. Was this really a good question? He really wanted to know though…

"Do you…have family in the other world?"

"…Yes. Not blood related, but I considered them family." Hiro answered stiffly and swiftly. The reply was so hasty yet solemn that Tadashi wasn't even sure he should go in this direction anymore. His brother seemed unwilling to speak about that as well. Hiro was forcing himself to focus on his food, staring at it before taking just one piece with his chopsticks, trying to drag this subtle distraction out while also savouring the comforting taste of his maki. Every movement was rigid. Thinking back on it, he realized Hiro would never see those people, who cared about him in a time of duress, again.

"Um," Tadashi started, trying to find a better topic. "What do you do for fun?"

Hiro looked at him, still in the middle of chewing his food. Putting a hand in front of his mouth for politeness sake, he answered. "Well…inventing, obviously, but when I'm not doing that, I'm sleeping, eating, teasing my friends, annoying my brother-"

"Other than that!"

The prodigy smiled behind his hand. With one last chew, he swallowed and sipped some tea, letting out a very content sigh, still holding the cup with both hands. "And I meditate."

"You meditate?" Tadashi questioned with widened eyes. That seemed so…definitely not Hiro. The little brother nodded earnestly.

"In the future, in a very unstable world, meditation is good for relaxing. Many people took it up."

"Oh, and here I thought you were against the social norm." Tadashi said teasingly. Hiro gave him a deadpanned look.

"I was…" Then the little brother looked away with a blush of embarrassment. "…At first. But…the teacher was a friend of mine, a Buddhist, and he thought it would be good for me."

"Does it work?" the elder brother asked, captivated by the longing look on the younger's face. Hiro folded a hand under his chin.

"When I meditate, everything is calm, focused, in the silence. It takes a lot of concentration, but it does make me feel better. I haven't done it much since I came to this world. It's just not as effective without someone guiding me."

Tadashi twiddled his thumbs around his cup as an idea came to him. "That sounds nice. Can I try? With you?"

Hiro's gaze broke from oblivion to Tadashi. His index finger flexed out thoughtfully as a playful smile came out. "You could, or could not."

"Huh?" Tadashi said confusedly, staring at his brother incredulously.

"You could join in, or you could not."

"Are you trying to be cryptic right now? It's not working."

"You could do it, or not."

"Hiro!"

* * *

The teasing went on longer than it should have, taking turns between Hiro's amusement and Tadashi's comments. Hiro was always going to let Tadashi meditate with him. He just wanted to do it in the most annoying way possible. Once the conversation turned into complete ridiculousness, much to the people in the restaurant's dismay, they started laughing. Now that they had finished and paid for their meal, Tadashi and Hiro started looking for something else to do.

They couldn't see anything of interest in the shopping district, so they decided to go for a flight. Calling Baymax secretively, the brothers suited up and ran up to the healthcare robot when he landed in the alley. Then, they blasted to the skies like a rocket flying into space. Hiro hummed in delight as he felt the wind hit his hair and make his coat tails dance, watching the world go by behind his visor and his brother flying with fire beside them. ' _Flying is so much fun!_ '

The younger brother looked with a smile at the older. Tadashi looked very relaxed, finding just as much joy in the experience. He couldn't feel the gale under his suit, but looking down on the sights of the city was always fun. They could pick out every store, every person, and some kids who were waving at them. The heroes waved back with shy expressions. They ended their flight of glee by landing on the tallest building in the city, deciding to take a break and stretch.

But once they planted their feet on the flat roof, Tadashi's cellphone rang, both brothers flinching at the sudden sound. Hiro raised a brow at his brother, watching the older take out his phone. Tadashi looked at his brother awkwardly and quickly moved away to be out of hearing range.

"Hey, Aunt Cass!" Tadashi tried to say normally.

" _Hi, sweetie! I'm going shopping and I was wondering if you'll be home for supper tonight_."

"Oh, yeah, I will!"

" _Oh good! We haven't sat down and had a meal together in a while! You're so busy lately_."

"S-Sorry."

" _I'm curious, what have you been doing?_ "

Tadashi's eyes widened and looked around anxiously to come up with an excuse. An answer came to him when he spotted Hiro and Baymax starring at him. He started pacing. "I'm just doing a big project with some friends."

" _Oh, what is it?!_ " Aunt Cass exclaimed, unintentionally putting pressure on the college student.

"Um, it's just a silly idea Fred came up with for Baymax."

" _Well, you have to tell me more about it over dinner. I'm thinking fried chicken and pizza! Any idea what the veggie should be?_ "

"No, just go with whatever looks best in the market."

" _Alright. I'll be going to the shopping district first, so if you remember anything you need, let me know!_ "

"Okay, bye!"

" _Bye!_ "

Tadashi stopped moving as he shut off his phone. He sighed in relief, still not used to hiding things from his caretaker. He secretly hoped that he wouldn't have to anymore someday. Feeling those eyes on him, the violet clad hero turned to red and indigo, taking in the deadpanned expression of his drama conductor/time traveling brother. Hiro's very displeased and unimpressed look made Tadashi look down and scratch the back of his head.

"Sorry…about that."

The little brother let out an angry huff then looked away with a sad look. He walked away to the railing and looked over the city, shadows shifting with the moving sun. Tadashi frowned at him and positioned himself next to Hiro, leaning on the railing as well. He sighed. He had done so well avoiding this topic, now he had slipped up twice in one day. ' _Well, I'm passed the point of no return. I may as well probe just a little bit_.'

"We'll be a family again soon, right?" the taller brother asked, turning to him curiously and apprehensively. Hiro leaned forward, scrunching his shoulders as if to lock everything out.

"I'm…I…"

Tadashi couldn't read the emotions in his brother's eyes, many feelings moving like a storm, but he could at least read the confliction inside them. The elder brother decided to take that as a good sign. It showed that Hiro did want to go back to Aunt Cass and his old room. It showed that he was considering it, unlike the last few times he had mentioned the topic. But there were still unsettled reasons for resisting. Whatever was holding the younger back, the elder brother could only hope they would be resolved soon.

* * *

Needless to say, Seishin was attacking with a vengeance. After one hour of silence between Hiro and Tadashi, Baymax noticed that rock soldiers were everywhere in the shopping district and destroying anything in their path, including people. And when they got there, the enemy was clearly causing destruction for destruction's sake rather than stealing. Seishin was using his geokenesis to smash whatever caught his eye, and when that didn't satisfy him, he was smashing his foot on the ground and making an earthquake, windows exploding on the trembling buildings, people losing their balance and dust obstructing view.

It was in one of these instances that Tadashi noticed a woman fall over into the path of an earth soldier. His eyes widened a fraction and flew towards her as fast as he could, grabbing her and getting away from the minion's axe.

"Sorry for pushing you like that!" Tadashi said, pushing himself off her.

"It's okay, thank you." The violet hero froze at the voice and the features of the person beneath him.

It was Aunt Cass.

Tadashi had no idea what to do.

Hiro's war cry and the sound of rock being crushed to dust snapped Tadashi out of his panic. He takes his caretaker's hand, helping her up and hiding her in an unnoticed alley. She looked at him curiously, adjusting some dishevelled hair out of her face and behind her ear.

"Just stay here, okay?!" he demanded, departing to defeat an incoming adversary, his aunt trailing his every move with a suspicious and concerned gaze.

While Tadashi was having an internal panic, Hiro was trying his best to stop Seishin's attacks. This man was just throwing boulders left and right with no thought behind them. It didn't even seem like he noticed that three-sevenths of Big Hero 7 was here. He was just giving everything he had to make people miserable.

' _What an inconsiderate jerk._ ' Hiro thought angrily, creating a microbot fence between a large group of rock soldiers and the running crowd of people. The situation was getting a little too much as the evil minions tried to push and stab their way through, Hiro distressingly looked at Baymax and Tadashi, wishing they could help him in his struggle.

His comrades were struggling against their foes. Because the people were their main priority, the two were trying to stop all the soldiers and incoming attacks, only slowing down the spread. And the numbers weren't going down. Burned or broken, the minions quickly fixed themselves, allowing them to go right back to attacking. The trio of heroes didn't even have any time to go after the source.

' _His anger is making his powers stronger, like it was working on its own, just like how mine does with fear_ …' Hiro thought. Suddenly, Seishin had noticed the wall of black and started throwing hard chunks of earth at it, putting pressure on the indigo hero. Hiro cried out when a really big one hit.

"Argh, where are those guys?" he groaned out, crying out again at another hit, holding out as best he could.

Eventually, after a harsh barrage came, Hiro couldn't hold up his barrier any longer. The earth armed with cement and tar smashed through and the hero screamed. It felt like a direct hit to his mind, and he started to see black spots, falling to the ground and groaning in pain. He must have partially passed out because he had been unaware that Takehiko was now looming over him. His brother, however, did see it and he was scared for him.

"Hiro!" Tadashi shouted, alerting Baymax and Hiro of the treat.

Suddenly, Takehiko was smashed into a wall. The heroes blinked as yellow backed away while orange, green and blue shouted, running up to her and taking out soldiers along the way.

"Stop leaving us behind!" Wasabi yelled, panting.

"Then stop being slow!" Gogo retorted, putting a hand on her hip after decapitating a rock soldier with a flying disk. But when she caught the disk's return, the four heroes watched wide eyed as the head seemed to climb up and reattach itself.

"Holy Star Lord!"

"Eeek!" Honey Lemon squeaked.

Hiro stood up, holding his head. Thankfully, the pain was going away, most likely not a concussion. "Don't freak out, guys!" He turned to the honey blonde. "Honey Lemon, can you-!"

"Hiro!" everyone cried out, watching as a boulder knocked Hiro back to the ground, dodging when more attacks came their way.

Gogo moved to get Hiro out of the way, but Takehiko tackled her with a vengeful and menacing look. She grunted then growled at him, trying to kick him off. He growled back in annoyance and flipped her, pinning the yellow hero to the ground, arm behind her back, and pulled out his plasma gun, aiming it at her neck and getting ready to shoot. A battle cry cut out the other shouts in the air and Fred body slammed Takehiko back into the building.

"Are you okay?!" Fred asked worriedly, hand extended to help her up.

"I'm fine. Come on, Fred!" she growled stubbornly, quickly standing up and going after Takehiko. She started by throwing a disk at a soldier that entered their path, shouting, "Get out of my way!"

It hit the moving rock in the neck and it fell, Gogo jumping over it and Fred landing on it after an extremely high jump, making it split to pieces. She sped up and turned into a yellow ball of speed, heading straight for Takehiko. He noticed her and quickly rolled out of his crevice. She collided with it, making the hole bigger.

"Arrrrrgh!" Gogo forced herself to go up and she started falling down towards her target. The time scientist glared and gritted his teeth at her, moving out of the way again. She spun after, chasing his avoiding figure.

"Enough!" he yelled, dodging when she almost hit him, and turned towards her, shooting his gun at the yellow hero multiple times. Gogo dodged most of them, getting out of the way easily, but her speed made big turns impossible and she accidentally dodged into a broken car. It flipped and she went into the air with it. She cried out, but thankfully, her painful landing was thwarted by a bouncing blue catching her.

The yellow and blue heroes' struggles continued. Wasabi noticed them, only to cry out in fright when a rock soldier got too close and sliced it in half, looking for someone who could bring some type of hope to this stalemate while the defeated enemy started fixing itself. Tadashi was keeping the enemy from getting further into the city, but you could tell his gaze kept going back to Hiro, who had only managed to get on his hands and knees, swaying in dizziness despite his position. Baymax was doing the same thing as the violet hero, but he got a break when a clearly invisible Honey Lemon made a lovely barrier of smooth crystal, the healthcare having no problem seeing and thanking her. The bandana wearer immediately went to her, wanting to talk to her in the hopes of coming up with a game changing plan.

But had he stayed where he was, Wasabi would have been able to sense and stop the upcoming event.

None of Big Hero 7 noticed Hiro standing up, too focused on the army of adversaries. No one noticed that the boulder had broken Hiro's visor off, revealing his identity, only seeing that the rock soldiers weren't regenerating anymore. No one noticed that Aunt Cass had emerged from her hiding place, eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

But everyone noticed her unnatural scream of astonishment, confusion and delight.

"Hi-Hiro?!"

Her eyes were solely on the indigo hero, her lost nephew, and his were on hers. Hiro backed away from her, mind panicking and losing the ability to think properly. All he knew was that he was not ready for this, hadn't been for a month.

"A-Aunt Cass?! Um, I-! This is-"

Hiro would never finish his sentence, not that he knew what he was going to say to her, because after his body became paralyzed, a towering body snuck up behind him and pulled him in before anyone could stop it. The next millisecond, Hiro saw something white in the corner of his eye before it was placed on his face, covering his scared wide eyes. He moaned uncomfortably and in slight pain as he felt something intrude his head. He had no time to react when his vision became blurry white. He let out a pained cry. Something was happening to him. It felt like chains were wrapping around his mind. Hiro struggled as he tried to take off whatever was on his face, the thing that was hurting him, but those larger hands held both him and the device in place. Eventually, Hiro stopped struggling as his mind finally went numb and blank.

Hiro had been locked away, unable to hear the calls of his friends and family.

* * *

" _Hiro!"_

' _Huh? A…voice?'_

" _Hiro! It's time to wake up!"_

'… _Ash? Sam?'_

 _Colour entered Hiro's vision and memories finally returned. Hiro vaguely felt the poking from a strong hand. He shuffled under his dusty sheet and rolled to his other side. Groaning, his eyes opened and landed on his personal assistant and his bodyguard, both hovering over him with beaming grins. He let out a small smile and they returned it._

" _Good morning, little doc. It's time for breakfast!"_


	26. Chapter 26: Family

**Chapter 26: Family**

"Hiro!" Tadashi screamed, fear rising as Hiro stopped struggling in Seishin's hold and went quiet. What had that mask done to his brother?! The elder brother let his protective side rightfully take over. He blasted towards them, joined by his friends.

"Get away from him!" they yelled.

But within ten meters, a wall of black covered their vision and they stopped in their tracks.

"What the-?!" Tadashi exclaimed before he cried out when the microbots grabbed him and his friends, restraining them in their air. They struggled, but couldn't break free of the overwhelming amount of bots, confusion evident on their expressions. Seishin smirked, relaxing his arms, but possessively leaving one on the smaller boy's shoulder.

"Thank you, Hiro." Fred's eyes narrowed.

"You're controlling him?!" the blue hero yelled in his heroic way. The realization made the group freeze.

"Let him go!" Tadashi roared, eyes stuck on his motionless brother and the white kabuki mask covering those chocolate eyes. "Hiro!"

There was no acknowledgement to the violet hero's cries. Instead, once Seishin whispered something in his brother's ear, the smaller boy made the microbots throw Tadashi like a ball. He landed face first on the ground. His helmet's visor cracked on impact. He groaned, stood, and upon noticing hi obscured vision, removed his helmet, turning to Hiro again, but more desperate. He didn't care that Aunt Cass gasped. He needed to save his brother.

"Hey, let's hurry and finish the time machine!" Takehiko called, marching through the rubble and approaching Hiro and Seishin.

"Hm, yes, we should. Hiro, dear, grab me all the things we need."

The mind controlled technopath's microbots chucked the rest of the group into Tadashi and Aunt Cass squeaked in worry, running to make sure they were okay. Ominous microbots started floating as Hiro called for practically every electronic device in the area. The only thing stopping the heroes from changing panic into a heart attack was the fact that Honey Lemon's coat of chemicals were making sure their tech wasn't getting sucked into Hiro's technology vortex. It was chaotic like a sandstorm. The group had to drop to the ground to avoid getting hit by anything flying like leaves, Baymax maneuvering to shield his comrades and Aunt Cass.

Tadashi looked up. He could vaguely make out his enemies and mind controlled brother. He stood up, raging mad. He was not going to let Hiro be taken by those monsters. He just got Hiro back and he was not going to let Hiro leave them again.

The elder brother braved his body in the storm of technology. He blared his flames to their maximum, catching Seishin's attention. At his face, Takehiko started to turn where his counterpart was looking. He could not react when Tadashi jabbed him in the chest plate, making him hit the ground. The flames melted and burned the center of his hidden chest plate, making the evil scientist cry out and desperately pull it off before he lost anymore skin.

It was then that Baymax looked up and blinked his camera eyes.

Seishin growled, kicking Tadashi away and summoned a plate of earth. One moment the tech storm brewed harder, suddenly knocking everyone away, and the next moment, their enemies and Hiro were gone.

"Hiro!" Aunt Cass cried looking around frantically.

The group looked around desperately for the missing boy, but there was no sight and no clues, only the destruction Seishin and Takehiko left in their wake. Tadashi groaned in worry, mind racing from one disastrous thought to the next. What do they do now?!

"Tadashi!" At the loud and angry sound attached to his name, Tadashi flinched, back straightening in fear. "You have some explaining to do!"

* * *

His friends left him to tell their tale while they discussed what to do next. Tadashi felt like they dodged a bullet. It had been a long story, and one that Tadashi found much harder to tell than he imagined, emotions hindering the body and mind as he tried to say every word. His aunt's reactions didn't make it easier. She was confused in the beginning. She was happy every now and then. She was sad in others. She was distressed in many points of the story.

But she was most of all angry at everything.

"Honestly, what were you thinking?!" she yelled at one point during her rant.

"Sorry, Aunt Cass…"

"I can understand Hiro. He's fourteen, o-or was. You know, he is-was just a kid, thinks he's all alone or something, but I thought you were more mature than this Tadashi!"

Tadashi listened with guilt as he watched his caretaker struggle with her perception of Hiro and how to verbalize everything properly. Letting out a frustrated yell, Aunt Cass walked to the shelved tray of donuts and grabbed the first one she saw, carrying the pastry with her as she continued. She chewed it harshly, eyes closed as she thought of what to yell about next. She paced in front of her charge again, his eyes trailing every motion, sensing every emotion. He watched her when she had enough of standing and decided to sit back down harshly. Across from him was a very distraught woman and, as in his nature, he took her hand to give it a comforting squeeze, making her look up at him.

"Aunt Cass, it's gonna be okay."

She sighed dejectedly, putting her other hand on her face as her rage left sadness to take over. "I can't feel that way right now. Oh, what's going to happen to him?"

"…I'm not going to let him die again. He isn't going to disappear. That's the mission I choose when I decided to follow him."

"This is all so complicated." she whimpered.

"We think so too. I think that's part of the reason why he was so scared to come home." Tadashi said, looking down in deep thought. Then he shook his head in refusal to think negatively anymore. He stood up from his seat with a determined look, getting his aunt to stop hiding in her hand. "Let's show him it doesn't have to be!"

Tadashi went to the door, opening it and letting the sunset light up his violet suit. "I'm going to save him! That should give you enough time to figure out what you want to do."

Aunt Cass blinked at him, surprised at this version of Tadashi. She had not seen this side of him in months. Following his lead, she removed that previous emotion to take on her caretaker role. "Fine. But when this is over, I want a schedule of who's doing what! I need to know what's going on!"

Tadashi smiled at her brave face, noting the tears in the corner of her eyes.

"I'll be back soon."

* * *

 _Hiro was in a large shed, broken down, but still standing, although just barely. There were large metal boxes stacked by the walls like a staircase, some dusty blankets folded on the lower ones. Hiro was sitting next to an open box. He was working on the cables for his force-field idea, tools moving to adjust them all. Ash was by his side, making sure the dormant wires never tangled, while Sam was treating some injured survivors they had come across with a First Aid kit they found._

 _It had been a week since this whole mess started. Hiro was barely eating now and his stomach seemed to punch itself in protest. The pain and the work were a nice distraction from his aching heart, wishing to grieve over what things used to be, of the lives that used to be by his side. Another good distraction was when he was trying to bring Baymax back. He thought if he could bring his friend back, maybe living in this horrible place wouldn't be so bad._

 _But that was not the case, a newly unpackaged laptop told him reality's cruel dictatorship._

" _So, you really can't rebuild Baymax?" Ash asked. Hiro leaned back and massaged his neck picking out a wrench._

" _No. There's too much damage. All the healthcare protocols are gone. There are only a few specs in the memory data bank left, but even those are damaged. Even if I find a way to rebuild him, he wouldn't be the same…" Ash's shoulders sag disappointedly._

" _I-I see." The spiky black haired boy turned to Sam and the others. "What we going to do? That guy is still on the loose and he's not leaving you alone."_

 _Hiro turned to his friend, frowning. "Indeed. And I don't want to help that psychopath."_

" _Don't worry, Hiro. We'll protect you!" Sam yelled. Hiro looked at him with a raised brow._

" _You'll protect me?"_

" _I'm your bodyguard."_

 _Hiro glared at him. "I don't need protecting."_

" _Obviously you do. Just yesterday, I saved you from getting kidnapped by him again!"_

" _For the last time, I'm not a damsel in distress!"_

" _Uh, yeah, you are."_

" _Urgh! Screw you! I'm going to go look for new parts." Hiro said in aggravation and took off with a blush. Ash started following after him._

" _I'll help you."_

" _Hang on, don't leave the bodyguard!"_

* * *

 _Life moved relatively the same way in their little group for the next couple of weeks. But they would never know that this was the enterprise they would help to create:_

 _With the world in such ruin, Hiro stepped up to the plate and help the people with Sam and Ash by his side. Sam and Ash did their best to take care of Hiro so that he could focus on making life in this world better. Ash took on the role of his assistant, doing whatever Hiro needed and making sure he ate and slept. Sam would protect Hiro from Seishin on a bi-weekly basis, having a surprising amount of wit to get them away and hidden. As troubling as those days were, Hiro appreciated them and loved his new friends. They were more than that, actually. They were best friends._

 _When drama wasn't going on, they would gather survivors and set the rules of how to survive together. Those days were hard for Sam. They couldn't find his brother and they would often find him pacing or looking around by himself. After a night watching the full moon, however, they never heard him speak of it again, instead focusing on Hiro and their band of survivors._

 _The prodigy was quick to deal with the first problem: the blasts from Seishin's experiments. They had no idea where or when they would occur, but Hiro managed to invent a force-field to protect what was left of San Fransokyo. It was by far the hardest of his ideas to build with no 3-D printer to use, having Ash look for parts as he built and tinkered. It gave everyone quite a fright when the force-field came up as another wave was about to hit, and they had never been more relieved when it worked._

 _With that done, they could look after each other in relative, albeit wary, peace. But Hiro knew that there had to be other survivors in the world, so his next task was to create a communicator so he could get in contact with…hopefully anybody._

 _The fourth person that helped in this apocalypse was a man named Bruce, someone Hiro would come to admire and respect immensely and who had hidden as many survivors as he could in his 'secret lair.' The two had found each other on the communicator by accident and shared many messages, exchanging information until finally, Bruce and Hiro managed to find a way to get everyone to Hiro's force-field: protected helicopters and cars, which Bruce had a lot of and he could easily create what Hiro described. Bruce and his survivors came to Hiro, bringing whatever they could hold._

* * *

" _They're here! They're here!" Ash exclaimed over the communicator._

" _Turn off the field, little doc!"_

 _Hiro typed into his computer and the force-field faded. He then heard the propellers of helicopters and the roaring of fast cars. The prodigy kept his focus on the computer. Bruce had made it clear that, if Seishin choose to make that wave of destruction and time now, San Fransokyo's survivors would be in terror. Hiro would have to bring back the force-field, regardless of who made it through and who didn't. Hiro did not want to dwell on the worst case scenario. Therefore, Sam and Ash would be his eyes, surveying from the only tall building left in the ruins of the city, as he stayed in their shed with the generator._

 _The vehicles were getting closer and Hiro heard some come by. A good sign. He let out a shaky breath he had been holding, allowing himself to release a bit of apprehension. They would be safe. The sounds were too ambiguous to know how many new survivors had gotten inside the generator's range, not even able to hear any sighs of relief._

 _He did, however, catch that first scream of a child._

 _Hiro lifted his head, distressed at the cry and his inability to know what was going on, the screaming getting worse._

" _Guys, what's going on?!" the inventor asked over the communicator._

" _There's a time wave coming and there's still people coming in!" Ash cried._

" _Just be ready to bring the shield back, little doc! I'll tell you when!"_

" _Urgh." Hiro voiced his uncertainty. He made his hands hover over the keyboard, shaking, waiting. It felt like forever and his legs shifted in anticipation. He groaned as the seconds continued to tick. The inability to know what the situation was this moment was making his heart beat painfully against his chest._

 _He wondered how close the wave was._

 _He wondered how many people were still outside the barrier's range, fearing he would end up trapping someone to the mercy of machine hating chemicals and the earthquakes._

 _He wondered if Bruce had gotten through yet._

 _He wondered if Sam was ever going to give the signal!_

 _Finally, slight relief came._

" _Now, little doc!"_

 _At the cue, Hiro quickly typed and the barrier was back on. Now that his job was done, the prodigy sprinted out of the shed. When he was out, the wave hit and the new people screamed, but as it passed and nothing happened, they soon started to cheer. From the lack of screams of fear for another, Hiro deduced that no one was outside the city. He sighed in relief, all tension finally leaving him._

 _But it was hard to enjoy it when people started pushing him around, the crowd dancing for joy or searching for a loved one who had come in a different vehicle. He grunted and tried navigating back to the shed, at one point crying out in pain when his foot was stepped on. '_ Argh, why are people always taller than me and never watch where they're going?! _' Hiro grumbled as he was bumped into again and again no matter how many times he tried to avoid it._

 _Suddenly, stable, caring, strong hands held him in place and the person's large body blocked him from the moving people, seemingly waiting for the boy to be pushed towards him with unnatural perception. Hiro blinked and looked up. This man was tall, maybe even taller than Tadashi, and he had a seriousness that matched those steely blue eyes and raven black hair. But there was also a softness about the handsome man. This man was also strong. Hiro could feel it in the grip on his shoulders as they led him to a less crowded area._

" _Um, t-thank you!" Hiro said shyly. The taller male's eyes narrowed in realization._

" _Are you…Hiro?"_

 _The prodigy's eyes widened at the familiar deep, smooth voice, pointing at him incredulously. "Wait…Bruce?"_

 _The man nodded, adjusting his posture coolly with a small smile. "Yes. It's nice to finally meet you in person."_

* * *

 _It was amazing to meet the man for the first time. Bruce was tall, handsome, reasonable, lean, serious and smart, just like Hiro thought he would be. It was clear this man had been a rich businessman before all this, but he was the kind that anyone would want to meet. Over the next few days, they were together a lot, and Hiro's admiration grew and grew for this amazing man, even seeing him as his intellectual equal at times. Eventually, the smaller boy started following him like a puppy, and Bruce was completely fine with it, enjoying it greatly even. Hiro knew nothing about fathers and sons, but according to Sam, this was more or less what it should feel like._

 _Soon after that, a rescue operation was made. They made a team to help make jets that could be used to search for any other survivors. Hiro and Bruce took more control in that area, leaving the subject of food, water and shelter to his other two friends. Within a month, North and South America had been checked out and they had twenty million people. It was getting cramped now and Hiro had to make more force-field generators to enlarge the area._

 _Hiro had to make the field even bigger, spreading it with multiple large generators, each with their own codename. With the New San Fransokyo generator in the center, Hiro, with a team of mechanics, made four more fields, expanding over miles and merging with each other. That last part took a while to figure out, but Hiro was a genius and he had great people helping him get it done. He named them: Honey, Wasabi, Fred, Gogo, and Cass, the names of people who had protected and nurtured him._

 _It was during the expansion period that Hiro met Aang._

* * *

 _Hiro was doing the daily checkup of the generators. They had recently made an expansion, adding two new generators: Tadashi and Baymax. No one commented on the names. Hiro hadn't told his new group the names of his friends and family, much less his superhero past. It just felt like details that didn't need to be said. However, Bruce seemed to sense something, if those side glances were anything to go by. Hiro would only turn away when he did. However, he did wonder if this was just a ridiculous notion he was following._

'They will find out someday _.' Hiro thought, pressing a few keys on the computer._

 _Everything seemed to be working smoothly, putting down his notes to check off and write things down. As he wrote, he wondered when Ash was going to be back with Bruce and the conservation plans. He felt lonely in the lab now that Sam was off helping with agriculture projects._

 _The prodigy spun around in his chair, jumbling some thoughts to keep himself occupied. When he was offered the role of Minister or Science and Technology, he thought it would be more interesting. But all he got was a group of scientists, who could only help him rather than join him in finding ideas and solve problems. They mostly understood what he was talking about, but they couldn't come up with an idea and just do it like he could. '_ The burden of being a genius _…'_

 _He was still spinning around when the automatic doors opened and a bald boy in yellow and red Buddhist robes entered. The arrival hardly got a good look of the room since his first sight was the playful Hiro, watching the lab coat wearer spin round and round until he crashed into another chair, letting out a startled cry as he fell to the floor. The boy burst out laughing, revealing his presence to the dizzy Hiro._

" _Hellooo." Hiro slurred, trying to get up, but so dizzy he just fell down again._

" _Hi, I'm Aang!" Aang exclaimed, taking a seat and extending his hand. Hiro took it._

* * *

 _Aang was younger than Hiro, yet his maturity and wisdom was that of a hundred years of experience. The prodigy had become friends with him, engaging in interesting conversations and finding new tricks to play on others. They were different intellectual specialty, yet they were so alike. Aang had been found in the remains of Macaw and was appointed Minister of Health, both physical and psychological. He was a healer by nature and it allowed him to know just what to say to the psychologically hurt or what to do for the people who were physically injured. His wisdom was just so vast that his young age suddenly didn't matter, a prodigy in his own right. People were often surprised that he was younger than Hiro._

 _A few months later, Sam became the Minister of Law and Enforcement, and Ash turned from assistant to Minister of Animal Protection. Sam collected many recruits for his team. Hiro never really met them, but one oddball that was often brought up was someone named Deku, or Izuku. There were many, more refined others. Some used to be fishermen, some used to be students; many people from different backgrounds were called to protect the security of their society._

 _Meanwhile, Ash had an amazing touch with animals. It was what made him stand out from the other candidates. He knew how to catch them and he knew how to take care of them thanks to his grandfather. What made it tough for him, and made others doubt their decision was the fact that Ash would sometimes stumble in decision making, even when his heart was in the right place. Bruce had to come in and help more than once. The situation was not necessarily perfect, but everyone was confident that under Bruce's tutelage, Ash would eventually grow into a wonderful leader._

 _Bruce was the boss of all of them, though Minister of Agriculture and Distribution was his true job. His presence just took over wherever he went, but since he was as smart as Hiro, they welcomed his help and command. Everyone knew Bruce would rather have Sam's job, but he had unparalleled problem detecting and management skills that needed to be applied elsewhere. So he relented, doing his assigned job, but still finding time to help any of the multiple Ministers. He would determine a problem, noticing certain patterns, and determine solutions. Generally, he would solve things himself, but he was not completely above asking for help. If he had a technical problem, he would go straight to Hiro, and the younger would happily comply._

 _Together (Hiro, Bruce, Sam, Ash and Aang), they were the most influential people in the remains of the human race, a civilization of one hundred and forty-two million. Everyone was living in as much comfort as they could. Prosperity was found in their dystopia thanks to them._

 _But Hiro should have known better to believe that the relative peace would never end._


	27. Chapter 27: Struggles

**Chapter 27: Struggles**

When they arrived at their hideout in the mountain, Seishin made their platform stop levitating and collapsed to his knees, massaging his aching head. Takehiko glanced at him with a stern expression, analyzing, strategizing. They needed a plan. Big Hero 7 would be here soon to save their comrade and they had to be ready. He walked up to his counterpart and shook his shoulder.

"Hey, we're not out of the woods yet. Those kids will be here soon and we still need time to get the machine ready."

Seishin opened his eyes and gave his younger self a look of acknowledgement before turning to Hiro, who was on his sitting like a limp puppet, waiting to be used. He grunted and stood up. "Argh, give me a moment. I'll be ready when they get here."

Takehiko nodded. "I'll take the kid inside so he can set things up undisturbed."

The time traveler's eyes watched as his younger self got up and took Hiro by the arm, almost dragging him towards the entrance to their cave and disappeared from his view, the stolen tech following them. A smirk graced his lips, letting his pleasure show. He had been after Hiro for so long and now the technopath prodigy was finally his. That boy would put all the pieces together for him. It was his victory, and he felt powerful again. He hadn't been this truly happy in a long time. He wished he had completed the mask of mind manipulation sooner.

Ignoring and tolerating his headache, he tried to get to higher ground without his powers. His fitness and survival training made it relatively easy. After a few jumps from one large rock to the next up the rocky mountain, and several forceful upward steps, he reached a worthy height, seeing into the vast distance and the sunset. He stood there in a daze for a moment, his mind going numb for a second.

Getting control of himself, he waited, eyes sharp on the horizon of San Fransokyo.

And when Big Hero 7 came, he unleashed his powers and his vision went black.

* * *

Once Tadashi exited the café, he went to his friends, who turned to him with greeting faces. Those expressions and smiles eased Tadashi's worries. It told him they knew what to do and everything would be okay. But he had wasted time trying to calm his aunt and was worried about what Seishin and Takehiko were doing to his brother, so relief was hardly suppressing his anxiety.

"Hey, sorry about that."

"It's fine." Honey Lemon said reassuringly.

"Any ideas on how to find Hiro?"

"Yeah, not only can Baymax sense Hiro, but when you melted Takehiko's chest armour, Baymax was able to scan him." Wasabi explained.

"Now we can track them both to Seishin's hiding place." Gogo's smile turned darker, promising pain. It scared them.

"A-Anyway, let's go!" Fred exclaimed, handing Tadashi his helmet.

He took it, frowning. The visor was shattered thanks to that fight, like Seishin was marking him for his failure. When he trailed his fingers over it, the cracks were both smooth and could cut him if he wasn't careful or if he pressed hard enough. But with gloved fingers, he should be fine with what he wanted to do.

Taking one last touch, Tadashi started to press on the cracked visor, harder and harder until it finally crumbled to the cement, sounding like it wanted to sing as it died. He started removing the leftover fragments on the edges, the pieces hitting the ground with the sound of a fork against a water filled glass. When there was nothing dangerous or distracting, he put the helmet on and let out a big sigh, eyes showing their resolve for everyone to see.

"Alright, let's save my brother."

He then flew into the sky with wings of fire, his friends following after him on the red hero. Letting Baymax guide them and Wasabi screaming as he hung onto the robot's arm, it almost felt like a regular patrol, but this was a mission, and an important one. This would be, had to be, where they ended it all. They were so tight that every mountain they passed was met with suspicion and an analyzing gaze.

"Are we almost there?" Wasabi wailed in agonizing fear.

"The signal is starting to become distorted." Baymax noted, his camera on the two bodily signals fading in and out of his view.

"What?!"

"That's not good." Honey Lemon muttered in worry. Tadashi gritted his teeth and started looking around, eyes grazing every detail below him.

"Where were they last seen?" Gogo asked calmly. Baymax gestured with his head.

"That mountain."

Everyone turned their heads. Their gaze was on a tall mountain, not as big as some but not as small as others, obscuring the horizon with its fellow peaks. Trees seemed to struggle to reach the tip in their quest to spread their calming green, stuck only a little above the middle of their climb. The group was a bit perplexed. They had expected some sort of human made structure somewhere, but there was none. How can someone live, much less make a large time machine here?

"Baymax, are you su-?" Tadashi started.

But suddenly, they heard a roar and the earth responded to the deep sound. The group saw movement on the mountain and its base was where rock soldiers were being born. It got really intimidating when three giants pushed themselves off the mountain. Big Hero 7 gaped at their army of opponents guarding their goal.

"I am quite sure." Baymax remarked.

"Watch out!"

One of the giants narrowly hit Baymax when he tried to move out of the way, but the power was enough to cause Honey Lemon and Wasabi to lose their grip and for the red hero to spiral in the sky. Wasabi screamed, but Honey Lemon had the solution. Freefalling uncontrollably, she dizzyingly reached for her purse and typed on the keypad. An orange orb came out and she threw it. Wasabi stopped screaming as they watched goop expand and rise into a giant trampoline flan. The honey blonde and bandana wearer landed on it, the Jell-O like substance holding them like a solid pillow. The green hero let out a sigh of relief before looking at his friends, who had recovered and were avoiding the giants' attacks.

"You guys alright?" Tadashi asked, trying to get away from the frenzy.

"Yeah, what about you?"

"Uh, haven't gotten hit yet. Whoa!"

"Guys, we don't have time for this. We need to find a way inside." Gogo said as her ride almost got hit again, gripping Baymax harder. Tadashi made a flaming attack, but only made a scorch mark. He groaned and got away from a large slap. Baymax made a bigger impact, punching one and making it stumble, earning cheers, but the attack of another prevented him from doing it again. The yellow hero growled. "Three is too much."

"And the army is not much better!" Fred exclaimed, pointing to the rock soldiers trying to dismantle Honey Lemon's flan of goo, the two heroes on the ground doing their best to hold them back.

Giving up on fighting the giants, Tadashi left his comrades, rationalizing that they were doing better against their opponents than he was, and tried to find the entrance to the mountain on his own, circling the base. After a short while, a hollow space caught Tadashi's attention, and once he noticed it, the entrance stood out like a sore thumb. He stopped and pointed at it.

"Guys, I found it!"

Their gazes followed his direction, but for Wasabi and Honey Lemon, their friend was simply too far away, almost on the other side of the mountain from them.

"How are we supposed to get all the way over there?!" Wasabi cried out as a flying axe almost hit him.

"Uh…"

Everyone was stymied. Under pressure, they only came up with two choices: they leave the army to the green and orange/pink heroes, leaving them to an uncertain fate, or they defeat the army and go into the mountain together, risking being too late to save Hiro and their world from the time travel fanatics. Neither was very appealing…

"You guys go ahead." Honey Lemon said, her conviction speaking her unspoken reasoning, her hand gripping a new chem ball. "Wasabi and I can handle this."

"Wha-?! Are you sure?" Gogo questioned. Wasabi was looking at the honey blonde uncertainly, torn between running and making her statement true.

Honey Lemon threw her weapon, watching it trap a group of earth soldiers in quickly hardening goo. Wasabi followed her lead and threw plasma daggers at a giant's legs, listening to its pained cries, its movements slowing. The others took a moment to think about their answer, but it seemed like the only option as the three rock giants started ganging up on Baymax in retaliation. If he stayed outside much longer, he would be trapped by endless swings of attacks. Tadashi looked at the ground crew with a distressed and reluctant look.

"Argh, we have no choice. Okay, we'll leave it to you, but you don't have to destroy the army! Aim for any chance to get inside."

"Got it!"

And thus, they separated. Tadashi was first to get inside, no obstacles to stop his flaming speed. But it alerted the enemy to their intent and the army started going after violet hero out of instinct, filled with the need to protect the time machine and keep the one who would make it for their master. Honey Lemon and Wasabi threw their weapons at them, not wanting their friends to fight a mass of soldiers trapped in such a tight space. The distraction made the giants turn away from Baymax for a second. The red hero took his chance and blasted away, aiming to follow his creator. The giants tried to stop Baymax and the heroes hitching a ride with him when he zoomed passed them, sending another frenzy of attacks their way. There were a few close calls, some of them stopped by daggers and exploding orbs, but at ten meters, their goal was in sight. The pressure, however, would not let up. One of the giants was sending one last attack their way and it got too close. Fred cried out about it and did it loudly again when the attack hit Baymax and the mountain entrance simultaneously, causing a cave in. Honey Lemon and Wasabi watched with sinking hearts.

"Gogo? Fred? Baymax!" Wasabi called over the communicator.

"Urgh, yes?" Fred said on the other line.

"Are you guys okay?!"

"Yeah." Gogo replied, the sounds of patting heard in the background. "Except Baymax."

"I am trapped under the rubble. It'll take time to free myself."

"Uh, here, Gogo, you catch up with Tadashi, I'll help Baymax with my powers."

"Sounds good."

And the line disconnected, nothing but buzzing now. Honey Lemon and Wasabi looked at each other, then at their regrouping opponents. There was so many of them…

"We better get started."

* * *

 _Seishin had always been a problem to New San Fransokyo because of his weekly or bi-weekly waves of doom. But protecting everyone was the priority, so they put taking down the evil scientist on the back of their minds until they had come up with a good plan and an idea of his location, putting defense over offense for now. No one figured out where he was hiding until one particular area was turning into a desert and a mountain started to turn black, frequent waves pushing the slates of rock up and creating a sort of opened dome around the mountain over time. There was no doubt that was where Seishin was hiding._

 _Bruce proposed they keep an eye on him, get more information before charging in. Every time a jet passed by the empty land, they would discreetly run whatever scan Hiro had invented. Strangely, no health scans could tell them where in the mountain Seishin was, but some tech scans could tell them there was a lot going on, particularly with a power source in a corner of the peak. Bruce seemed to absorb any information given to him and he would enter a trance, not speaking for hours._

 _All this worried Hiro, but all he could do was make whatever invention that would protect the people he cared about, or whatever was requested of him._

 _After the success of the law enforcement equipment, colour changing suits that enhanced the power of the body and able to make force-fields, making it easy to tackle people with no damage, Bruce eventually came to him and asked for one. The request bewildered Hiro as he stared into those determined eyes, but he assumed it had to do with being the world's best detective, so he never thought twice about it._

 _Following the theme of cool that came with Bruce's very presence, Hiro made the older man a black suit with dark grey linings moving straight and around his body. Black gloves and boots that increased the wearer's strength were made along with a matching helmet. At Bruce's request, there were two points sticking out of the helmet that increased his hearing and detection. To make the look more awesome, Hiro made a cool black cape. The inventor commented that it would have made a good villain suit had he not know who it was for. Bruce merely patted his head and smiled, thanking him for the suit and taking it with him, telling him he would be back to ask for gadgets._

 _The suit was so amazing that when he showed it off to Aang and Ash, they excitedly asked if they could have something too. They must have talked for hours about what they wanted and Hiro would only take their most interesting ideas. Ash was given a suit of red, black and white, a yellow cape flying like a cloud. He got a mask that covered his face and a cool hat with a lightning bolt. But the fun part was in the gloves. Those white gloves had the ability to create thunder bolts and shock whoever touched them._

 _Aang didn't really get a suit. No matter what design Hiro made, he could not find something that could make his smaller and even thinner friend look cool. So they let him keep his monk clothing and just added tech onto it. The ability to make wind with a wave of his hand and fly were the powers that suited Aang the most, thus he was given sky blue gloves and boots that let him do just that, contrasted nicely against the yellow and red._

 _Those were such fun times, watching his friends horse around in his tech._

 _But Hiro never knew how important those suits would become._

* * *

 _Things became worse when Seishin suddenly shot a plasma cannon at a transport plane as it was returning home. It was completely out of the blue and when the alarm went off, New San Fransokyo's golden troupe was on it instantly, rushing to headquarters for details at Sam's call. One by one, Ash, Aang, and Bruce had met in the hallway in their run to the meeting room, entering altogether and seeing an angry Sam and a scared Hiro._

" _What happened?" Bruce asked as calmly as he could._

" _Seishin just blasted one of our transport ships!" Sam replied loudly. Aang seemed to get increasingly worried._

" _Did anyone get hurt?"_

" _Some scratches and broken ribs, but the blast somehow got through the force-field! The plane has taken too much damage to work anymore!" Hiro exclaimed._

" _And it gets worse." Sam mumbled, looking at his phone. He told it to connect to the holo-sphere in the middle of the table and it revealed chaos._

 _The pilot and his crew were yelling at each other and the strange robots coming into view. The strange machines were incredibly tall, shiny and white with a bit of grey. The body took a hunched, round yet tough look. With strong looking legs and arms, they looked ready for a fight, so the crew tried to keep their distance and their alertness on high. When they started taking the plane apart and stealing the cargo, one brave crew member tried to stop them, but only got a plasma blast in reply. He dodged, and scurried away like a scared wild animal. Yells became screams as the crew took cover at the next set of attacks. The viewers felt relief when their police force arrived, but then they started having trouble. Though hiding the car proved smart, reaching the scattered and trapped people was proving a difficult challenge for the group of protectors._

" _We need to help them!" Ash exclaimed. Bruce narrowed his eyes and nodded._

" _Agreed. Sam, you're with me. Ash, Aang, suit up and join us when you're ready."_

 _Hiro had a stern and confused expression at not hearing his name, stepping towards his friends as they started to leave. "I'm coming too!"_

 _Bruce stopped him immediately. "No. You're what he wants, you're staying here."_

" _But, Bruce-!"_

" _ **No**_ _."_

 _Hiro instinctually took a step back and stopped at Bruce's commanding voice, eyes reflecting his internal conflict and surprise. That was the first time Bruce had ever spoken to him like that, and Hiro had given the man many opportunities to do so. Was he really serious right now? Hiro's mouth stayed partly open, his rebelliousness wanting to retort sarcastically while the strange other wanted to obey. He hadn't felt like that before. It left him frozen in place. Bruce could see every feeling and thought in the prodigy's rigid body. His eyes looked down for a moment, then back at Hiro. Not saying a word, Bruce left Hiro behind, thinking he would make it up to him. But Hiro was not okay at seeing his friend's back like that._

" _Okay…I'll be…waiting." Hiro mumbled to himself. All alone, he looked to his left, then his right then down at himself. The meeting room started to become suffocating, alone and empty. For a moment, a flash of being by himself in the wreckage from four years ago came into his mind's eye. The prodigy narrowed his gaze, looking at his feet and clenching his fist. Those hands began to shake and he gritted his teeth, looking back up with anger._

 _He rushed to his lab._

* * *

 _When he entered the lab, Hiro felt a sudden wave that made him think he was forgetting something important, feeling like he was breaking through a fog of illusions and dreams, but something started to blur his mind again, and soon, that feeling soon became distant like a elapsed dream._


	28. Chapter 28: Friends

**Chapter 28: Friends**

It was chaos for Honey Lemon and Wasabi. With fewer targets and the entrance for a pursuit blocked, the army made the obvious decision to turn their attention to the remaining duo of heroes. Whirling their backs from the cave, forgetting the heroes that had escaped them, they started marching towards their new primary targets, overflowing with the need to defeat.

While their resolve was flaring, the duo's rationality started panicking. There were a lot of foes to defeat. They prayed that the tech Hiro had given them could handle it, and that they would be lucky. Honey Lemon acted first. If she could lower the numbers, they wouldn't become overwhelmed and outmatched. Her fingers danced over the keypad of her purse with the grace of experience. An orange orb emerged and she threw it at the front of the troupe. It exploded into a large crystal, trapping its prisoners inside and hindering the rest of the army as they were forced to move around it.

Wasabi moved next. Internally deciding to leave half of them to his partner, the green hero started focusing on the soldiers maneuvering to the right of the crystal, slashing any that came his way. Honey Lemon caught on and called on an orb of invisibility, smashing it on the ground and letting her suit turn her as transparent as diamond. She then made an orb of ice blue and jumped, throwing it into the middle of the army, the ice stopping just around the crystal. It hindered their opponents' movements further as some lost control on the smooth, firm surface, some clumsily falling into on another. It gave Wasabi and Honey Lemon control of the terrain as they steadily beat down earth soldiers, and the strategy went well.

For a while…

When the stomps of giants started to get noticeably louder and looming shadows covered everything, Honey Lemon and Wasabi knew their time on the advantage was over. As the foot started to come down, they ran into the cover of trees. They heard the glassy cracks and the final break of crystal and ice behind them.

In the woods, after getting distance from the slower soldiers, Wasabi hid behind a large tree, panting and looking around frantically for friend or foe. A tap on the shoulder made him shriek in surprise, hearing a quick 'sorry' from the invisible woman. He took a few breaths to calm himself, feeling the comforting hand of the honey blonde.

"Are you okay?" Honey Lemon asked worriedly.

"Yeah." Wasabi answered breathlessly. He looked at what was on the other side of the tree, internally groaning at the amount of fighting they still had to do. Returning his focus to his partner, he sighed dejectedly. "I wish I was invisible right now."

"We'll ask Hiro about that later."

"So now what do we do?" Wasabi felt Honey Lemon lay against the tree with him, hearing a hum of contemplation.

"I…could flood them with chem balls." she suggested. From the sounds of shuffling grass, Wasabi pictured her looking over at the approaching army, sensing the calculating gears of her mind. "I'm gonna need time to make them. Do you think you can keep them distracted at the base?"

Wasabi groaned and tried to smile reassuringly. "Yes."

He pictured her smiling back at him. "Thanks."

Getting up, they prepared themselves. Honey Lemon would have to be quick. Wasabi would have to be patient. The rustle of bushes beside him told the green hero to start. He darted forward, catching the enemies' attention. They followed him out of the forest like sharks chasing the scent of blood. Once out of the forest, Wasabi had a perfect view of the three giants that were still looking for him and threw his plasma daggers at their limbs. With their movements slowed, the green hero got ready for the army that was catching up to him, his plasma blades blazing for the fight. And he charged.

Meanwhile, Honey Lemon trudged unnoticed up the mountain. When her legs started to feel strained, she stopped and looked down at Wasabi. She took a second to watch the fight. The army was a small group now, maybe twenty or thirty, but the giants were getting closer, despite the daggers burning their hard soil limbs. Deciding she had observed enough, the honey blonde hurriedly started her part. Orange chem balls started emerging every five seconds, magenta sleeved hands moving each into a pile, careful to not let any roll away. When there was enough, she pressed a different set of buttons and a green orb landed in her hand. Standing, Honey Lemon called to Wasabi over the communicator.

"I'm ready! When you see a wave of orange, get out of the way!"

Because of the urgency, she did not wait for his response and threw green at orange. The orbs exploded, forcing the honey blonde hero to duck. A cascade of orange with a tinge of green moved down the mountain with the power of a great waterfall. Wasabi squeaked and looked for higher ground, running for a tree, eyes pining on the tallest one. He had never climbed so quickly in his life, his fear of death overriding his fear of heights.

When he looked down, his eyes widened. When he looked at the giants, he blinked. Below, the rock soldiers were drowning in the moving foam. The giants were relatively unaffected by the sudden river of orange. It wasn't until the foam hardened that they had a problem. They couldn't move and they lost their balance, falling to the crystalized ground. The one with the most damage to his limbs broke, pieces of earth scattering away.

When the remaining two tried to get up, Honey Lemon and Wasabi jumped onto them. With a final battle cry, the glowing green blades decapitated one and an exploding yellow orb destroyed the head of another. Both giants fell back, defeated. The heroes landed next to each other and looked back at their beaten opponents. They looked back at each other in glee at their victory and gave each other a fist bump. But once the feeling of success left Wasabi, he looked around at the destruction once more.

"…This can't be good for the environment."

* * *

It was dark, and very quiet. The walls were rugged and lumpy. Dug into random spots of the cave were lamps. The lights of these lamps were too dim, about to die out, making it difficult for Gogo to see very far into her path. Clearly, the supervillains were going cheap, maybe even digging through garbage to get this evil lair to somewhat work. Those were Gogo's first impressions of this place. Her opinion would only get worse as she moved through the cavern.

When Gogo ran into her first dead end, she realized finding anybody was going to extremely difficult. She frowned and wished this place could have been more straightforward. Resigning to the fact that her situation wouldn't change no matter how much she wanted it to, the yellow hero tried another path. But the same thing happened. It was starting to make her feel claustrophobic. She wanted to run through these hallways, but couldn't because she couldn't see very well and would crash into a dead end or a narrow space if she wasn't careful.

The yellow hero wished she had left with Baymax and Fred, then maybe she wouldn't feel so uneasy. With them, she would have some form of guidance, either through the healthcare robot's sensors or the blue hero's flames. It frustrated her. She had focused too much on speed and didn't give herself other abilities. Even bringing a flashlight would have made her more adaptable to situations. Gogo groaned and continued into the cavern having no idea if she was getting closer or further from anything, casually moving on her maglev disks like roller-skates and listening to the clicks of irregularities on the ground hitting her disks.

When Gogo started hearing footsteps, she was surprised. Noticing another passageway, she darted for cover. Peeking, the hero spotted Takehiko emerging from a passage further down, looking for intruders, for heroes like her. Gogo hero glared darkly and gritted her teeth. She had wanted a piece of him for a while now. ' _Alright, Gogo, it's time to woman up!_ '

Suddenly, a blazing light could be seen moving opposite to the yellow hero's previous tunnel. It was Tadashi, and he had just turned into where Takehiko had emerged from. Gogo and Takehiko blinked, the violet hero clearly unaware that he had just passed them. The villain snapped out of his surprise and took out his gun, getting ready to shoot the flying hero down. Gogo smirked and zoomed out. She raced onto the walls and punched him in the face. The speedster smiled at the satisfied feeling in her chest.

Takehiko stood up, shaking the daze out of his head, and gave the hero a bored, yet annoyed look. "Oh, it's you."

And Gogo charged.

* * *

Tadashi was wildly moving from passage to passage, trying to find Hiro in this labyrinth of caverns. One second he was in one spot, another dead end. The next, he was moving again and running into another. With all the time that had passed, he must have gone through the entire mountain. Considering all the work he had put into his search, surely he must be close. His internal compass told him that he was nearing the top.

The violet hero grunted as he reached another dead end, looking around the area for places he hadn't tried yet. His brow was ever narrowed in worry. ' _Soon. Soon. It has to be soon._ ' he told himself. Willing himself to keep going, Tadashi tried, and tried, and tried, and tried again. His heart panged with each reoccurring failure in these dark tunnels.

And then it happened.

Tadashi's blood seemed to freeze.

He found Hiro.

But his brother was surrounded by floating tech, his coat tails floating in the pulsing pressure of the techopathic powers, and a nearly complete time machine.

* * *

 _When Bruce, Sam, Ash and Aang returned, Hiro was relieved to hear that they were relatively alright, no injuries a doctor couldn't easily fix. But the prodigy was still not happy about earlier, his feelings tearing him up, and he refused to check on his friends in person out of stubbornness. He was given time alone and he spent it thinking about what happened, aggressively putting screws into whatever junk he had made on an angry whim._

 _The next day, when everyone was called to discuss what had happened and what they could do about it, Hiro begrudgingly walked to the meeting room. At the doors, Hiro still had an upset look on his face. He didn't want to go in. He felt so annoyed. He hated sitting still and his friends were forcing him into that position. It was like they didn't know him at all._

 _But that wasn't all. They were risking their lives. It was for their city, for their people, for him, and that scared Hiro immensely. He didn't want to lose any more friends just as they didn't want to lose him. And if Seishin's attacks kept going, death would eventually happen. Hiro didn't know how to deal with this. It hurt so much to be pushed away, to be so useless._

 _Hiro snapped out of his thoughts when he realized he had been standing in front of the door for an unnatural amount of time. He slightly rushed closer to the automatic doors and went inside, holding a calm, yet angry appearance. The prodigy ignored the other people in the room. He took the seat closest to the door, keeping his escape close and his silent protest about being here strong, refusing to look anyone in the eye. The other people in the room looked uncomfortably at Hiro's closed posture before Bruce decided to start the discussion. Anytime Hiro was addressed, he would answer with an uninterested "whatever."_

 _When the meeting was over, Hiro was quick to make his exit, his messy locks bouncing with each quick step. He did not want to stay. But that didn't seem to matter to Bruce. Within seconds, the taller male was stopping the smaller in the hallway, cutting off the boy's route. Hiro glared and tried maneuvering to get passed him. It was to no avail, the older man having faster reflexes than the younger, and the prodigy gave the abnormally talented businessman a pouty look. The leader of the golden troupe narrowed his own brows, but his were still kind._

" _Please, don't push us away, Hiro."_

" _Why not? You pushed me first." Hiro retorted, deciding to instead go another way. Bruce trailed after him, keeping up with the younger's fast pace._

" _You know why I did that. I want you safe. I don't want Seishin to get his hands on you."_

" _As if I'd make that as easy as it sounds, Bruce." The older male's frown deepened. Hiro wasn't even going to bother wondering what Bruce was thinking. "I'm not weak. I'm smart."_

" _I believe that."_

" _Do you?" Hiro questioned harshly. "You don't act like it."_

" _I know, but…" Bruce stopped talking. Hiro raised a brow, feeling the analytical look._

" _What?"_

" _Something else is bothering you."_

'No shit, Sherlock! _'_

"…" _Hiro kept silent, not wanting to give Bruce any clues and to frustrate the man._

" _Hiro?"_

"…"

" _Hiro, please don't do anything ra-!"_

 _Hiro stopped and turned on his heel, glaring at Bruce. "Excuse me, but according to all of you in that meeting, I have lots of work to do and I would really like to get started! Now it's your turn to go away!"_

 _The prodigy then quickly ran into his lab and told the doors to lock. He kept his back against the door until he heard Bruce reluctantly leave. Hiro sighed and immediately regretted how he acted. He shouldn't have let his anger take over like that. On some level, Bruce was right, but Hiro was not okay with how things were._

 _This new problem was putting a lot of pressure on Hiro. He had to reinvent the forcefield to deflect whatever plasma gun Seishin had created; he had to invent new weapons for the justice teams; he had to create a new ship that could use weapons; he had to make stronger suits that could block the explosion of a defeated robot; he had to strengthen his friends' suits…that last part made Hiro very unhappy._

 _Aside from the giant list, the people who were important to him were running into trouble. Like_ that _time… '_ Tadashi…Everyone _…'_

 _Hiro shook his head, went to his desk, and turned on his computer. He then pulled up a suit design he had worked on last night. It was a suit for himself. By its sides were a few objects. He touched those, nostalgia filling him with remanence. '_ I hope they don't mind _…'_

* * *

 _Progress was slower than before. Hiro was having a harder time getting into the inventing mood and would just stare at the screen. Sometimes friends would visit him, trying to mend the gap created. Hiro would just glare at them and turn away with a childish 'hmph!' Despite their best efforts, be it jokes or stories, Hiro paid them no mind and eventually, his silence would force them to leave. However, internally, he was cursing his inability to find forgiveness, wanting very much to be with them like before._

 _Aside from the internal conflict in New San Fransokyo, the external struggles troublesome. Reinforcement of the suits was easy. Improved individual defence was Hiro's first check mark on his list of things to do since it was the simplest job. It definitely saved lives. But a stronger force-field continued to elude him. The energy in the blast just kept slipping through, planes kept crashing, rescue teams were being sent into danger, and resources kept getting stolen._

 _Hiro eventually decided to take a break from the force-field and switched to improving offence. However, whenever he tried to work on anything for his friends, he soon found himself adjusting something for his own suit. He wanted to fight by their sides, wasn't that good enough? '_ Not to them _.' a voice in the prodigy's head answered. Hiro lowered his eyes at the tech he was working on. '_ Knuckleheads _…'_

* * *

 _Hiro heard the alarm today, but ignored it at first since he was so close to finishing the solution to their force-field problem. He wasn't part of the rescue team anyway, kept in his lab like a precious object. But once his task was done, he felt he could watch over them now. He hated it, wanting to be in the action, to do something, but seeing was easier than not knowing what was happening._

 _And today, that had never been truer._

 _When Hiro opened the holographic projector to see how everyone was doing, his head sank at the fearful yelling. There was more terror than before, and it made the scientist narrow his eyes, absorbing what he was seeing._

 _The team was being overwhelmed. A few robots were suddenly an army, half dealing with the smaller group while the others took away everything from the plane like a school of piranhas. Bruce had a broken arm, yet he was still trying to fight off his opponent. Luckily, Sam came to his rescue and punched straight though the robot with enhanced strength, backing off once the robot exploded. Ash and Aang were tag teaming, the Buddhist blowing away anyone trying to hurt his friend from behind as the other short-circuited any robot he touched. But Ash's powers weren't built to deal with so many robots and started to run out of energy. Eventually, Ash was unable to continue and Aang had to pull him up into the air, flying off to their older comrades._

 _And there was still more to fight._

 _Any person with enough power came together to merge their force-fields over the group, buying time to come up with a plan._

 _Hiro had seen enough. He pulled black rings from his lab coat pocket and put them on his wrists, ankles and neck. Tossing his white coat aside, he turned them on. Black and indigo started to cover his body, creating armour and weaponry for its user. He activated his maglev disks and zoomed out of New San Fransokyo._

* * *

 _When Hiro arrived at the war zone, his gaze narrowed on the robots. Somewhere in that crowd of enemies were his surrounded friends. He decided to start big. He taped onto his black pouch and grabbed the orange orb that popped out of it. Hiro immediately jumped abnormally high and focused on his group of targets. Throwing it at the enemies closest to his friends, it exploded into honey coloured goo, short-circuiting the robots and containing the following explosions. The saved group widened their eyes and looked up at their savior in confusion, awe and surprise._

 _Behind his visor, Hiro was a bit panicked. He was worried his friends would recognize him. He wanted to believe his suit was a good enough disguise that they couldn't tell. Ignoring his fears, the prodigy took advantage of his untouchable height and activated his plasma blades. Adjusting his body to control his fall, he used his black maglev disks to cut into a robot's body like an electric saw, jumping off to get away from the following explosion and using the momentum to repeat the action on another robot. The indigo hero did this a couple more times until he had to land on the barren ground. Plasma blades ready, he darted on the disks in a second and started cutting robots down one by one, arms swinging and legs fast like the wind._

 _To some of the group, he looked like he had been doing this all his life. But, as a matter of fact, he was mostly copying. Along the way, he recalled every memory from his Big Hero 6 days he could remember. It was evident in the fact that he wasn't sure which combination would give him which orb, only remembering the one Honey Lemon had given a demonstration to. His only experience with Gogo's disks, he had learned on his way here. His sword moves were only done because he saw Wasabi do it. Using Fred's jump enhancers weren't hard though._

 _But inexperienced was quick to turn into experienced as Hiro's genius helped him catch what made these weapons work best and he started to zigzag over the battlefield, taking down robots quickly like a cheetah on a rampage. Eventually, there was no one left to fight and Hiro stopped, panting and looking around just to be sure._

 _Suddenly, Hiro felt himself get pushed down by three familiar bodies, their arms wrapped protectively around him, and a blast touch his helmet. The prodigy grunted under his protectors as they all hit the ground. Looking up, he saw Bruce crush the half broken robot with an angry expression and back away from the explosion. Looking to his sides, he saw the relieved faces of Sam, Ash and Aang. All the bitterness Hiro had felt before softened, touched by sweetness. He stood up and his friends followed suit. They were looking at him expectantly. He looked back at them shyly and took a breath to speak, but didn't._

 _His eyes were focused on their injuries. There were clearly so many close calls, scratches littering their suits and bodies. Aang's clothes, that were once beautiful in shine and colour, were now in tatters. Ash had a cut crossing over his nose, there for anyone to see. Bruce was cradling his broken arm, scary eyes analyzing the indigo hero and taking away any voice he had. Sam had a bad gash on his shoulder, reaching up to stop the blood, but it didn't stop that one drop from slipping his grasp. Hiro's eyes followed the speck of red and turned away._

 _This had to stop. It had to stop now before it is too late._

 _Biting his lip, eyes fearful, he darted back home, mind reeling over everything he needed to do._

 _Tomorrow. Tomorrow, he would end this, even at the cost of his own life._


	29. Chapter 29: Partners

**Chapter 29: Partners**

Fred moved another large boulder, arms calmly glowing light blue, lighting the dark cavern. He dumped it clumsily aside and sighed. Baymax was almost free. He just needed to pull the robot out and he would be done. The blue hero turned back to the red one and took his arm. He started to pull. At first there was no movement, but with a call for more power, light blue becoming stronger and brighter, Baymax was quickly out.

Fred let the healthcare robot go and removed the head of his suit to wipe off some sweat. "There you go, buddy!"

"Thank you." Baymax said, standing up.

"You're welcome!" The brunet put his suit back in order with a hop. "Alright! Let's find our friends! Can you sense them?"

Baymax turned away from his companion, blinked and started to scan. "…I sense…four people. Tadashi has found Hiro."

"Awesome!"

"But Gogo is engaged in combat."

Fred stiffened. "W-What makes you say that?"

"She is injured."

* * *

Gogo groaned. Of all the places he could have hit, it just had to be her leg. And she had been doing so well too, knocking the villain off his feet repeatedly with a lovely right hook. Sure, whenever she threw a disk, he would dodge, but it was fine as long as he was the one getting hurt and she wasn't.

However, just as she was going to finish the duel with a golden tornado, Takehiko got lucky and shot her in the leg, the pain forcing her to stop moving. But staying still is dangerous in a fight. She did not have long before Takehiko was shooting at her again, forcing her to start zooming. It hurt so much! The yellow hero could feel the blood moving on her burning skin. The screams of pain were begging her to stop moving, but that wasn't an option. Forcing herself to woman up and deal with the pain, Gogo tried to move quickly, gaining as much momentum as she could on her maglev disks. She was significantly slower, no longer the yellow ball of speed she previously was.

The yellow hero ducked into the tunnel she came from to dodge the bullets. When she heard the sound of empty gun clicks, she let out a breath at his annoyed growl. She then heard the quick shuffling of the white coat. It surprised her to see the white blast of the deadly test shot. As footsteps approached, she raced to find a new hiding place, darting through corridors as fast as she could.

Now in a new spot, Gogo tried to come up with a way to defeat Takehiko, eyes and ears on alert. Her hand pressed on her injured leg. She wasn't the medic of the team, but a gunshot wound couldn't be good in any bodily location. Finding Baymax should be her priority. She was a bit thankful about the lack of light now since it would make finding her and the blood trail difficult for the pursuer. But where to go next…?

Gogo put her thoughts aside as she sensed Takehiko's approach. Remembering a tunnel further down, she threw a maglev disk in that direction. It made Takehiko turn and pause. Gogo used this as her chance to get away. Sensing the movement, the villain shot blasts at her, but the yellow hero had a head start and had already turned into the next corner. She kept moving, but more slowly than that earlier sprint. Knowing that Takehiko was definitely following her, Gogo decided staying in one place wasn't going to help her. She doubted her trick would work again. Surely, her friends must be somewhere in this accursed place.

And indeed, they were.

"GOGO!"

At her name, the yellow hero flinched at the sudden volume and turned to the call's origins. Fred was somewhere nearby. Gathering strength, Gogo tried to find him, following that voice she would have found irritating in any other situation. After a while, Gogo was starting to feel tired, but hope and stubbornness compelled her to continue, internally hating how weak she was right now.

A missed shot had Gogo's eyes widen in shock and she started moving faster, doing her best to dodge the multiple attacks coming her way. But she wasn't able to get very far. A moment of dizziness made her lose her balance for a moment and she fell to the ground. She glowered and rushed to get back up, but a foot stomped onto her back and she lost her breath for a moment. The yellow hero glared at the white cloaked villain angrily, but it held a tinge of fear when the blaster was aimed at her head.

"Fredzilla Kick!"

Suddenly, Takehiko was knocked down the cave, skidding across the floor uncontrollably, his white coat stained brown. Fred landed in front of Gogo, making sure the villain was a safe distance from his friend before turning to her. Baymax moved in his slow and unique way towards them, walking as quickly as he could towards his perceivable patient.

"Holy Spiderman, Gogo, are you okay?!" the blue hero asked worriedly, his gaze glued to the dark red over the bright yellow suit.

"No." Gogo replied in annoyed sarcasm, but put it away to let out a grateful smile. "But I'm glad to see you two."

Baymax got ready to treat her wound, removing his red metal gloves in favour of his white healthcare hands. As he started to do what he was built for, Fred returned his focus to the one who had hurt his friend. Takehiko was getting closer, likely wanting to get a better shot in this place with almost zero visibility. Target practice became much easier when a flare of blue lit the hero's form as the hero charged. The villain shot a blast of energy. The blue hero shot a blast of fire. And both of them dodged.

Gogo instinctively ducked in her seated position as the flash of energy passed over her. She sincerely hoped that a stray shot wouldn't hit her or her doctor. That concern was hard to focus on though as the healthcare robot put more pressure on the wound, trying to stop the river of blood that was leaving her body. But she refused to keep her mind on the pain and forced herself to look at the fight. Fred managed to get three hits in, but Takehiko was still able to get up, much to the heroes' astonishment. The yellow hero really wanted to get that dangerous gun out of the villain's hands as it scorched the blue hero's left arm, the force knocking the superhuman into the cavern wall. She cringed and glared at Takehiko. The woman suspected that one more hit in any of those black spots on the blue hero's suit would put him in her position. As Takehiko dodged Fred's retaliation flamethrower, the hero panting harder with every quick movement, Gogo knew that the blaster needed to go as soon as possible if they were to attain victory. She wanted so much to interfere, but she shouldn't move until Baymax at least started to patch her up. If she was to do anything right now, it would have to be from where she was sitting.

Eyes moved down to the yellow maglev disks on her wrists then to the moving males locked in battle. Fred was a good distraction, if anything. He was unwittingly helping her in a way he hadn't realized. But the element of surprise would only work once. Gogo would have one shot to knock the gun out of Takehiko's hands before he noticed her and saw her for the threat she was. Readying herself, Gogo's eyes narrowed into a predatory, analytical gaze that followed every movement of her prey.

When she sensed her chance, Gogo threw the disk and it slammed with sharp force into Takehiko's hand. The villain let out a pained cry and his hand's grip was forced to release, the gun hitting the floor. Gogo let herself smirk in pride when she saw Takehiko whip his head at her with a glare filled with the desire for revenge. He rushed to get his gun back, but Fred body slammed him away from it. The blue hero groaned as his adversary simply got back up.

"Why can't he just stay down?! How much can this guy take?!"

"I'll get hit as many times as it takes to stop all of you." Takehiko growled.

"You'll never succeed, scientist of evil!" Fred proclaimed in a heroic voice. Gogo rolled her eyes and looked at her wound. Baymax was almost finished.

"If being labelled as the villain is what it takes, then so be it." And Takehiko lunged at Fred. The blue hero caught those hands and, to his surprise, they got locked into a stalemate.

"Evil scientists aren't supposed to be this strong!"

"I'm a soldier before I'm a scientist." Takehiko retorted and pushed harder.

Fred's expression became troubled and summoned his powers, his blue aura flaring more strongly, trying to overpower Takehiko. It was working, but the evil scientist slipped out of the power stalemate and moved out of the way as Fred fell forward. Takehiko dove for his blaster, wanting to shoot all these people and secure the technopath.

Suddenly, there was yellow where the blaster should be and his instincts made Takehiko quickly pull back. Gogo was just as fast and Fred was coming in behind the villain. Takehiko realized this a little too late. He managed to get his legs into a steady stance, but his arms only had time to catch the two impending fists. His face twisted into a troubled and pained expression. The glowing blue attack was too strong for just one hand and his fingers were curved over a maglev disk that threatened to pierce and draw blood. He needed to get out. Making a desperate retreat, Takehiko slipped out of the holds of yellow and blue…

And into Baymax's range.

The evil scientist's eyes widened, unable to react when the red hero grabbed his arm and knocked him out with a hit to the neck. As black completely took over Takehiko's vision, his body slumped unwillingly in defeat.

Silently realizing their victory, Gogo flexed her wrist, throwing and destroying the blaster with her disk then catching it, before collapsing against the cavern wall. Fred joined her a moment later, removing his hood. His loud panting provided a rhythmic calm between them and they smiled in satisfaction. They looked at each other.

"W-We did it." Fred beamed in exhausted relief.

"Yeah." Gogo responded tiredly. Her hand lifted and curved into a fist, but it made no other motion. Fred looked into her sincere eyes and his smile widened. They did a fist bump and let out a happy chuckle, the adrenaline and fear leaving them.

But their moment ended when Baymax loomed over Gogo, her gaze looking at him then the unfinished bandage hanging loosely on her injured leg.

"Please stop moving while I am treating you."

* * *

Tadashi's worried gaze moved to the ominous, large time machine. What stood out most was the glowing crystal being held as if on a pedestal, waves of light moving like they were part of a toxic sea of red-orange. It was a chronoton core, a creation made by no natural or easy means. Held hostage within the container, coils focused and sucked away the power of the artificial gem. Tadashi wasn't sure where this energy was being taken, but it must have been a complicated system to require such a large, towering machine that circled this enormous room. The only incomplete component was under the chronoton core, many control panels and cables circling around pointlessly around his brother as he made some technopathicly controlled adjustments.

The older brother glared at the mask controlling the younger. He had to remove it before the mind manipulated time traveler completed the thing he was trying to prevent. Maybe if he was quiet enough, he could sneak behind Hiro and get rid of the mask without any trouble. That plan seemed simple enough.

Tadashi took careful, soundless steps and tried to put himself behind Hiro as he moved closer. He did his best not to trip on the large coils that connected the center to the outer components, not wanting to trip or disturb anything and catch the controlled technopath's attention. Stepping over another coil, he felt lighter, noticing he was at least five meters from his brother. He readied his hands to slip the white mask off and smash it into millions of pieces with his steel tipped combat boots. He was close; ten centimetres, nine, eight, seven, six, five-!

Suddenly, Hiro turned, hand outstretched to call a part somewhere behind him. Both paused in surprise, the elder brother's shocked eyes reflecting on the lifeless white mask's. Then the mind-controlled Hiro had a loose control panel knock Tadashi away. The violet hero groaned in pain, then realized those coils he had been so careful to avoid were starting to move like anacondas slithering to their weakened pray. Tadashi's expression became more and more troubled as they got closer and he made himself fly in an attempt to get away. The coils followed and tried to grab him. He did his best to avoid them, slipping through and getting as much distance as he could. Things got worse, however, when he noticed pieces of black moving below and beginning to swirl around his technopath brother.

Tadashi groaned. This was not gonna be easy.

* * *

 _Hiro did not go back home. Instead, he found a secluded spot to practice with his tech and work on some rusty techniques, fusing his martial arts with his gear. If he could master this, he could beat Seishin and his robot army singlehandedly. The suffering could end now and his friends wouldn't die._

 _It was then that that Hiro froze, his kick hanging in the air. He furrowed his brow. Was he really thinking of going alone? Was he some kind of hypocrite? He had recently scolded Bruce for leaving him out of fights…Hiro lowered his leg, eyes distant in thought. '_ But…this feeling _…' His mind told the prodigy he was being dumb, but he couldn't deny the emotion that was hurting his heart. As he pondered the feeling, memories of his friends' injuries came to mind. Even if he swallowed his guilt and found the strength to talk to them, to invite them to stop the fight would mean those injuries would become worse. Much worse. Besides, Hiro was the combination of Big Hero 6 and did very well in that fight…_

 _Hiro frowned at the way he was trying to convince himself to go alone. His beliefs and facts were contradicting each other, and now the prodigy didn't know what path he wanted to walk anymore. He was tearing himself in all directions and all of it hurt. Maybe he should wait a few days to think about it._

 _A familiar ring was heard and the boy looked down at its source. Turning off his suit, he fished for his phone. Aang's name was on the screen. Hiro didn't want to ignore it, not like he was doing earlier. He needed to talk to someone. Resolving himself and taking a deep breath, he answered._

" _Hello?" Hiro greeted as normally as he could._

" _Hiro? Oh good, you answered." The relief in Aang's voice made Hiro smile with gratefulness for his friend's concern. "You just suddenly ran off! Are you okay?!"_

 _Hiro hummed. So, they could tell it was him, after all. The prodigy's eyes lowered, putting a hand on the arm holding the phone. "Physically, yes, I'm fine…Emotionally…I feel lost…"_

 _The other line was silent. Hiro could sense the multitude of questions the younger boy had, including 'where are you?' The prodigy looked off to the side, at the city, imagining the Buddhist somewhere inside. Taking another deep breath, he decided to change the subject._

" _How is everyone?" Hiro asked, still trying to keep his voice normal. He knew Aang could still sense his worry, but the Buddhist was too distracted by his surprise at the question to take deep notice of it._

" _The justice team and Ash are fine, just a couple bruises and scratches. Sam just had a bad gash from a blast. I cleaned it and put some disinfectant on it. So long as he doesn't strain himself and reopen the wound for a couple days, he should be alright." Hiro sighed in relief. That was the injury that worried him the most. There was just so much blood. Always leave stuff like that to Aang. "Bruce was the hard one. He may be the oldest of us, but that guy needs to learn how to not be so stubborn and sit still. I actually had to force feed him painkillers." They both laughed at that. Hiro's heart felt lighter now, so happy to know his friends got treatment and were okay._

" _I may have given him too much because now he's a bit high. At least he's in bed." Aang added as his laughter died down. Hiro smiled at the image. But then the atmosphere changed. "You know…he wanted to go look for you."_

"…"

" _He's worried about you. We all are."_

"…"

"… _You're going to fight him by yourself, aren't you?" Hiro scrunched his eyes closed. After a moment, he turned on his suit._

" _The battle is getting worse. If you guys fight again, I know someone will die." He could sense Aang's flinch and the hitch in his breathing. The prodigy in black and indigo started to move, heading to his nemesis' lair. Aang seemed to be at a loss for words, unable to find the things he wanted to say._

" _Hiro…" The prodigy gave the other a moment, keeping his pace steady on his maglev disks. He looked at the crevice wall he would have to climb. "We don't…"_

" _Heh…I'm such a knucklehead, aren't I?"_

" _Huh?"_

" _I kept resenting you guys for leaving me out of fights, fights I see as partly my fault. I saw it as an insult, that you wanted me to watch more of my friends leave me, that you guys thought I couldn't take care of myself and were leaving me out of it because you don't trust me…and yet here I am doing the exact same thing. Why is protecting people so complicated?" Hiro said dejectedly._

"… _Doing things out of love rarely make sense, Hiro." Aang said. "That's why it's so dangerous, sometimes even more than hate."_

 _Hiro raised a brow in scepticism as he started to climb. "Okay, I understood the first part, but that last one made absolutely no sense."_

" _What?! It's because-! Oh, never mind, you won't get it."_

 _Hiro grinned and looked back at the city, staring at it from a new angle, a new height. It was beautiful. It looked safe. His smile became fonder, filled with memories of good and bad times, of fun times. How he wished to go back to those times. But he also wanted to protect it. He felt more certain about what he had to do now. He closed his eyes, a satisfied smile on his face._

" _It was wonderful to speak to you again, Aang. Tell the others I said 'Hey.'"_

 _And Hiro hung up before the doctor could respond, not going to let the other talk him out of his decision. He then turned to the dark mountain in the center of the wave of rock._

 _The finale was here._


	30. Chapter 30: Brothers

**Chapter 30: Brothers**

 _Hiro had always blamed himself for everything that happened. Had he recognized the severity of Seishin's pursuits the first time he met him and stopped the knucklehead that day instead of being terrified of temptation, none of this would have happened. The planet would not have gone out of whack. Big Hero 6 would still be alive. The people would not have had to lose so much. His new friends wouldn't have gotten hurt. If only he was stronger…_

 _The prodigy took out his black removable disk, the one that held the remaining fragments of Baymax's memories, the one that held the memories of how things used to be, the one that held the faces of his old friends. Hiro had treasured this thing for years, only looking through it for blueprints and times when he was feeling lonely or nostalgic. This was one of those moments, because today, their troubles would end._

 _Feeling his resolve strengthen, Hiro let go of the removable disk, the data holder swinging over his chest. The hero then looked down the cliff, kicking a rock to add more perspective about the height. He was pretty sure the rock was broken down there, but nervousness was meaningless at this point. He would have to go down there at some point if he wanted to face the demon who ruined his life._

 _Hiro looked back at the city he had helped to build and protect. He imagined the people heading home after work, getting ready for the final meal, or looking at the beautiful sunset. He also imagined the people closest to him, thinking about them together, be it in their apartments or in the meeting room or having fun. That likely wasn't the present case, but it was the one that Hiro wanted to latch his heart to. These images were what he was going to fight for._

 _The hero turned back to his adversary's lair, eyes examining the damaged mountain and the robots surrounding it. Hiro's eyes narrowed. If everyone was to be safe, every single one of those robots would have to go. It was going to be a tedious and long fight, but it would be for the best. '_ Well, better get started _.'_

 _He stepped off the edge, hoping this would go as smoothly as it did in his imagination._

 _And Hiro's fight with the robot army began._

* * *

A fight saturated with anger and fear is easy to engage. One or the other, it was likely how the first fight on Earth started as untamed energy filled the body and acted on its own. It was easy to lash out under the duress of those emotions. But a fight full of reluctance and love was not. Be it one side or both, it simply hurt to cause someone that means a lot to you pain.

Tadashi didn't want to hurt Hiro. This was his brother and he loved him. So far, he had only managed to create a game of cat and mouse as coils, wires and microbots tried to grab or squash him. It wasn't fun. There was a lot to keep track of and his gaze kept moving to the younger brother.

Naturally, the first idea was to destroy the offending tools of danger, and in any other situation that might have worked, but not against this superpower. When desperation made Tadashi lash out a flaming karate chop at a coil that got too close for comfort, the heat letting him cut through like butter, the slashed coil fell limply to the floor. Tadashi felt a wave of accomplishment until he noticed that the coil seemed to be repairing itself. His eyes widened and he narrowly dodged a microbot fist before shooting a flamethrower at it. By the time he did that, the damaged coil had somehow repaired itself, albeit still singed with the inner wires flaring in white electricity, and was now aiming for him once again.

This battle just wasn't good in any angle. Tadashi didn't even remember Hiro having this skill in the list of technopath abilities. Seishin must have taught him. ' _That man is such a bad influence. All the more reason to get these two as far apart as possible!_ ' the big brother said to himself, grumbling and growling. With that resolve, Tadashi decided that he would have to be much more aggressive if he wanted to save his brother.

A collection of wires got his leg and he slashed them with his enflamed hands before getting away again. Then, in a change of tactic, he turned towards his assailants in a flaming frenzy. He was like a well aimed pin ball. Tadashi let himself smile at his path of destruction. The tech didn't stand a chance, even when they tried to slam him down.

Once Tadashi had knocked down anything that could have gotten in his way, the hero turned off the flames in one hand and reached out to Hiro, flying like a hawk towards him. The younger brother's lips were parted, as if surprised at what had happened. He was so close. Tadashi gritted his teeth in determination. His heart pounded quickly in his chest. Four centimeters, three, two-!

Hiro had ducked just enough at the last second, putting himself at an odd angle in his attempt to dodge. When Tadashi's fingers flexed, he did it hard enough to grab whatever he could. All he got was a small corner of the mask before he crashed into the metal wall, leaving a nice dent. Tadashi groaned, repositioning himself and leaning more on the wall. That was a hard landing, and it definitely could have gone better. ' _Don't go so fast next time_.' the hero scolded himself. He looked at his fisted, flameless hand, staring at the small fragment he had snapped off the white, mind-control mask. Turning the flames back on, he watched as it melted and boiled into a silvery white liquid before burning into deep black ash. The elder brother then looked at the younger. Hiro had a hand on his forehead, trying to voice some sort of pain. Tadashi's eyes widened.

"Hiro!" For a moment, Tadashi hoped that his brother was breaking through, that the broken mask was losing its effects upon being broken, but that fantasy went away as the tech started to move again and swirl around the technopath, who had put his hand down and turned back to the intruder.

The violet hero sighed sadly, shoulders sagging, and looked at the pile of black ashes in his hand. He turned his hand over and watched the remains of the fragment hit the floor unceremoniously. Getting up, he eyed the mind-controlled technopath with a worried but resolute posture.

It was a start.

* * *

 _It came out of nowhere. Hiro honestly had no idea what could have triggered it. There was a sudden pain in his head and Hiro cringed. The pain was a good enough distraction that Seishin was able to knock him into a wall, freeing himself from Hiro's grasp. The prodigy groaned. The battle had been going so well too. What was this pain? It felt like something was invading his mind, like someone was calling to him and they had somehow broken a barrier that was preventing him from hearing their voice._

"Hiro!"

 _The boy gasped. '_ Tadashi? _' He looked around, surprise and hope in his eyes, but he couldn't see his brother, only the time machine and his approaching evil nemesis. At this realization, Hiro hurriedly got back up._

* * *

Round two had less running away. Tadashi had ensured that there was no way Hiro could fix the mask with that much damage to the captured fragment. Now he just needed to do the same for…the scary coils coming his way. Once Tadashi released the ashes and stood, Hiro ordered his attack. The large slithering coils launched themselves at the hero. He sidestepped out of the way and karate chopped it, slicing it like a knife. He did the same for the wires that came in from the other side and flew back into the air. His eyes narrowed downwards at the microbots encircling his brother like a dark protective barrier.

' _The mask must have a program of priorities, and one of them must be don't let Hiro go_.' Tadashi concluded unhappily, gritting his teeth as the bitterness towards Seishin grew in his heart. He really hated this. He didn't like this separation, seeing his brother before him yet they were forcefully torn apart. He hadn't felt this angry since Ryuuichi, maybe since Callaghan, wanting very much to act out in some way. But if there was one thing he learned from those days, it was that sometimes, you need to take a breath and think. He needed a plan.

Right now, Hiro was waiting for him to make the first move, ready to counter whatever was thrown at him. Tadashi's brown eyes trailed nervously when he noticed the glow of electricity move between the broken coils and wires in the process of repair. Looking around more, nothing struck out at him as a potential game changer. His mind-controlled brother was just too on guard. Nothing he did would get passed. His only option was to make his own opening.

In one more circle around the room, Tadashi turned back into an arrow of flame. His first move was to attack the microbot barrier. Hiro saw it coming and coils sprang into action. It was a barrage of assaults, making the violet hero curve to get out of the way. It was so fast. He was barely registering any of it. One coil, however, managed to slip through his senses and it jabbed his shoulder. The armour plate broke off while the coil took damage from the flames it exhibited. The force of the attack caused Tadashi to lose trajectory and fly towards the wall. He stopped himself just in time and flew to the ceiling again.

Then Hiro's tactic changed. Tadashi's eyes widened when the wires started to follow him, broken ends sparkling with electricity. Not liking the idea of getting electrocuted, he flew faster around the room. He didn't notice he had been chased into a full circle and, right where the body of the wires were blending with the wall, the assailants tried to grab him. Tadashi dodged moving towards the center of the room.

It was then Tadashi found himself being encircled by wires and coils, moving around him like dangerous demons of darkness that sparked like lightning. As they got closer, the hero saw what his mind-controlled brother was trying to do. He was going to trap him and cut off the oxygen. The flames would snuff out and Tadashi would be defeated, trapped in black and electricity.

The violet hero curled into himself, hands straight as his violet suit blazed in red, orange and yellow. He needed to strengthen his flames, so he told the charge to go to its maximum. But he needed to wait before he released it. He would only be able to use this high level move once, then he would be stuck at mid level until he completely burnt out. Tadashi held his position, his figure turning blue under the incredible heat, waiting and listening to the stressed sound his suit was making. Then, at the sound of the beeps, he released the energy and broke his form. A ring of fire was released and turned into a large tornado. After bearing through the pressure of the heat wave and the flames died down, Tadashi was vaguely aware of the cry of fear and surprise as he started falling to the floor.

The landing was not pleasant. Tadashi lost his breath for a second and had to turn on his side, a harsh ringing in his ears. He groaned as pain riddled his body, but the thought of Hiro and the fight compelled him to look up at his surroundings, sitting up with painful difficulty. Brown eyes narrowed over the extensive damage on the coils and wires. Most were burned beyond repair, but some were still sparkling, trying once again to fix itself. The later brought an unsettling feeling through Tadashi's heart and he quickly turned to his brother.

The microbots had protected Hiro and the main part of the machine, the chronoton core still sitting comfortably. The tiny pieces of black seemed to spasm unnaturally on the ground, trying to fix themselves after taking the hit. Hiro was barely standing over them all, shaking with a commanding hand outstretched and breathing heavily. A drop of blood came out of Hiro's nose and Tadashi froze.

"Hiro!"

Images of Hiro getting headaches from overusing his powers filled Tadashi's mind and he panicked as he realized that the technopath was at his limit. And yet he was still trying to defeat Tadashi, wanting to repair his weapons, which was clearly too much for him.

The big brother got up, running to the younger with dimmer flames. "Hold on, little brother, I'm coming."

Hiro let out a breathless gasp and summoned the microbots, but the little amount of bots seemed clumsy and struggling to retain their form. The smaller boy groaned. The pained sound pushed Tadashi to move faster. He dodged the microbots' attempts to neutralize him, careful not to break them as he did earlier. It was easy. It was too easy.

Soon, there was nothing between them.

Hiro leaned back, trying weakly to get away from Tadashi's outstretched arms.

Three centimeters, two, one-!

* * *

 _The fight was not going well. Not at all. When people fight in top form, nothing holding them back, a battle can be relatively simple. But a fight with a major headache was horrible. The pain from inside was unbearable and it hindered his reaction time. It was just so hard to focus on anything else._

 _The current hinderance was now so strong that Seishin was able to kick Hiro into the wall._

 _The black and indigo hero grunted as external pain mixed with the internal. Hiro had never felt so horrible before. Not even the flu felt so bad. '_ What's going on? _' he whimpered to himself. In his slouched position, he looked up at Seishin's approaching figure. The man was stalking closer and closer, but Hiro had no energy to move. The pain was draining him and he didn't know what to do. He couldn't even resist when the demon took off his helmet, revealing his features, and grabbed him by his mop of black hair. The villain hoisted the boy up, making him groan at the additional pain._

 _This was it. He failed. He had no idea what had caused it, but it was over._

" _What happened to your fighting spirit?" Seishin asked mockingly. Hiro couldn't reply sarcastically like he wanted to. Tears collected in his eyes. All he could do was groan at the increasing pain. His head hurt so bad. He wanted it all to stop. But how can you stop something if you didn't even know what was causing it? As the pain increased, Hiro reached to comfort his head, but Seishin took his wrist, crushing it with his incredible physical strength. The smaller male let out a choked cry, his face twisting in agony. "Now then, what should I do with yo-?"_

 _The sound of an angry cry and the collision of bodies had Hiro briefly snap out of his painful daze and he felt himself collapse to the ground, finally able to let his hand caress his head. He felt someone rush behind him and turn him over with one large hand so he could look at the ceiling and Bruce's face. The background was filled with the sounds of battle between Seishin, Ash, Sam and Aang. The Buddhist must have brought them. But Hiro was in no mood to think about it more as the pain intensified to the point of making Hiro feel like his head was splitting apart._

 _Bruce looked worried, his eyes trying to find a reason for Hiro's pain and finding none. A cold hand caressed the smaller boy's forehead and it was then that he realized how feverish he felt. He tried to lean further for more of that cooler touch, but as soon as something cold touched him, the coolness would seem to melt and it was gone. He was desperately and blindingly leaning in for more freezing comfort, but it kept going away, ignoring the cry of defeat in the room in favor of the comfort he had been seeking since the pain started. Relief was just out of his grasp, even though he knew it was right there. '_ Help, help, help, help, hel-! _'_

"Hold on, little brother, I'm coming."

 _Hiro opened his eyes with a gasp. '_ Tadashi? _' Suddenly, panting on the floor with Bruce above him and the rest of his friends rushing towards them, he remembered. Memories of the future past came to him with every deep breath he took, with each level of pain that left. Memories of going into a parallel world, reliving the birth of Big Hero 6, geokenetic Seishin, Takehiko, Gogo, Honey Lemon, Fred, Wasabi, Stan, Heathcliff, avoiding Aunt Cass, violet clad Tadashi, everything returned to him. New tears filled his eyes as he remembered his conclusion for the world his mind was currently in, what he did, what happened because of it, his guilt. He covered his face as the tears flooded and his voice broke into sobs._

" _I'm sorry!"_

 _The people above him looked at each other in confusion._

" _Hiro…? Are you okay?" Sam asked._

" _Where does it hurt?" Aang added. Ash leaned over Hiro, giving the prodigy a full view of his worried face._

" _I don't see anything."_

 _Hiro shook his head at them. However, when he saw white spreading over the background, the boy knew he was out of time in this place. Soon, things would be back to normal and he would return to the real world, return to Tadashi…But still…_

" _I'm sorry." Hiro whimpered. He was so wrapped in the guilt that nothing else would come out. He was a bit frustrated with his emotional self. Everything else he wanted to say to them just wouldn't escape his heart. He sobbed harder._

 _Then he felt a comforting hand on his cheek and saw all his friends leaning over him in a circle. Bruce spoke in that calming coffee voice. "Hiro, calm down. Everything's fine."_

 _Hiro blinked at the dark haired man he admired. Then his brown eyes trailed the sling holding the broken arm and his brow pressed in solemn sadness. He closed his eyes, thinking of all the pain he had caused these kind people. He then pushed them all back, got up and staggered away, looking up at their various expressions. He sighed._

" _It's my fault. If I-! I should have-!" He paused to try and collect himself again with quick breathes. "I…have done nothing but hurt you. I'm the reason all of this happened. If I had done something the first time I met Seishin, all these things wouldn't have happened." he said brokenly, hands clutching his hair as horrible memories kept appearing in his mind's eye. He shut his eyes tight as he tried to shake the images away. "Everyone would be fine! All of you would be alive! But I still keep making mistakes! I keep pushing away the wrong people, I keep missing all the important details that would help everyone, I keep letting Seishin get to me! I just keep doing all the wrong things! I'm such an idiot!"_

" _Hiro." At his name the black and indigo hero stopped and looked up to see four faces filled with, not remorse or hatred, but forgiveness. It bewildered him. He kept staring in hopes of finding answers to how this could be. Bruce tilted his head slightly with a warm smile. "Mistakes are proof that you're trying."_

 _Hiro's bewilderment grew and grew until it was suddenly funny to him._

" _Pfft, hahahahaha, what silly card gave you that advice?!" Hiro retorted with a twisted smile, eyes still full of tears. But then he took in those smiles both current and past that brought comfort to him. His soul suddenly felt rejuvenated, peaceful. After everything that has happened, these idiots were still smiling at him. Though he knew the guilt would always linger, he felt now that he could keep moving forward, could live with Tadashi, his living brother, his old family. No holding back. Everything would be fine. Screw inner turmoil and secrets. What good is family without this love, the one that forgave no matter what is done or hidden?_

 _As white started covering their bodies, Hiro jumped and hugged them for one final happy moment together. For one last moment, the heroes of New San Fransokyo smiled and laughed._

" _Take care of them, Hiro." they whispered in his ears._

When colour returned into his vision, he was in his brother's arms, the elder's hand gently petting his hair. Hiro let out a little whimper and another tear.

"It's okay, Hiro. I've got you." Tadashi said in comforting, somber sweetness.

Hiro smiled. He was free.


	31. Chapter 31: Ghosts

**Chapter 31: Ghosts**

" _Hey, Takehi!"_

" _Hibiki, what are you doing here? I thought I made it clear that I'm studying today."_

" _You shouldn't study_ all _the time!"_

" _Well, I have to do it. You should too." Hibiki pouted at him. A smile that soon graced the older boy's lips as an idea came to him. "How about you study with me?"_

" _I'd rather play."_

" _So, would I! But what good is fun without work." Takehiko ruffled Hibiki's white hair. The younger boy smiled at him, completely beaming in his brother's presence._

* * *

 _Seishin, also known as Aihara Takehiko, strangely enough, had a relatively normal childhood, filled with lots of joy. He had a house next to a lovely greenspace and a park. He had a mother, kind and hard-working, and a father, supportive and funny, who loved him dearly. His school was just a mile away, so it was a good walk. It was the perfect environment for a growing boy._

 _The family, however, was surprised and thrilled when Takehiko was coming home with amazing grades. He had no artistic or creative affluence, but when it came to math or science, it all just clicked for the young boy. The subjects he excelled at would become the foundation of his career path and a wonderful hobby._

 _But education was only second in Takehiko's list of favourite things to do. While Takehiko was still very young, his parents had no idea what kind of extra-curricular activity he may wish to pursue. And so, they put him into a variety of sports and lessons. He dropped piano within the first year, claiming it to be too boring as he grew restless on his seat after five minutes. Tennis and many other activities followed soon after._

 _In the end, swimming, self-defence and football were the ones that stuck until university. Swimming was useful and somehow always remained engaging. Takehiko just liked finding the techniques that made him feel like he was flying through the water. Football didn't come until high school, but the manly environment and beating everyone else within made Takehiko feel powerful. He loved it. Almost as much as actually beating people up._

 _The source of emotional trouble came from bullies. The fact that his hair was white like an old man's was the focus of their bullying, but Takehiko didn't let this treatment go. The white haired boy used his talent for self-defence to beat the boys, effectively scaring them off. Teachers and his parents would try to persuade him that violence wasn't the answer, but Takehiko shrugged them off. What did they know? They weren't the ones being mentally tortured. They weren't the ones dealing with these idiots. They didn't even seem to be trying to help him. Not that it mattered. At a later point, all the kids in his class had witnessed his incredible display of skill and power. Word had spread like wildfire and no one wanted to get close to him, even the classmates that were attracted to his handsome features. Takehiko was fine with this._

 _Who needs friends when you have family?_

* * *

" _Ga!"_

" _Aw, you're so cute, Hibiki!" his mother cooed back. "Takehiko, come meet your little brother!"_

 _The ten year old went up to the bed, his mother leaning down to show him the happy bundle in her arms. His eyes were wide with wonder and affection for the little one reaching out to him._

 _Takehiko had never felt so strongly for another person before._

" _I love you." he whispered with all the passion in the world._

* * *

 _When Hibiki was born, Takehiko changed. Though still busy with his lessons and school, the white haired boy made an effort to be by his little brother's side. He would build robots in front of him, enjoying the interested gleam those wide eyes held. He would show him martial art techniques, earning a laugh when he showed how fast and flexible his body was. When Hibiki turned four, Takehiko started teaching him how to swim._

 _Of course, not everything was sunshine and rainbows for the two brothers._

 _When Hibiki and Takehiko wanted different things that conflicted with each other, their stubbornness would make fights last until circumstances pushed them to compromise. Sometimes the fights wouldn't be resolved at all and the negativity somehow faded into a distant memory because of life. Their antics would exasperate and exhaust everyone around them. Takehiko in particular was scolded because he was the oldest and needed to set a better example for his brother._

 _However, while their personal fights would end more or less well, another war was not being fixed as easily. Hibiki, just like Takehiko so many years ago, was being bullied for his shiny white hair. When the elder brother found out, he beat the boys and got into trouble again. He had hoped that would be enough, but as time went on, Takehiko concluded that Hibiki was still being bullied as the younger became more withdrawn. The air around his brother just got gloomier and gloomier. It would only let up in those happy moments Takehiko managed to create._

 _They had ups and downs, but in those days, they had each other. However, their age difference would catch up to them. Takehiko went to high school, leaving Hibiki in elementary school. Then Takehiko went to university, and once he graduated, he went straight to the career path that would let him do what he loved, leaving Hibiki in the beginning of his high school life._

* * *

" _No, no! I don't want you to go! Big brother! No, come back! Takehi!"_

* * *

 _When someone is good at something, they tend to lean towards it and love it. And when Takehiko loved something, be it engineering, his brother or fighting, he became obsessed with it. He loved fighting, which was why he loved the war so much, why he loved the army. He could never seem to get away from it._

 _His family tried to talk him out of joining, saying it was dangerous and they didn't want him to go. Hibiki was very vocal about his disapproval. But their words couldn't reach him and he left as soon as he finished university, his brother's cries in his ears even when they were beyond each others' reach. The sound haunted him until he finally reached the destination his heart desired, the land of battle and blood._

 _Hibiki's voice soon left him under the strict and fatigue endearing environment. Day by day, he went through practice drills and learning everything he needed to know to survive. When that was over, he was sent to wherever his superiors desired him to be and he was more than happy to oblige, destroying and fighting challenges every day. All this hard work made Takehiko very happy. He was in his element, flourishing while his companions faded under mental stress and death._

 _But Takehiko also loved science. Between fights, he started making incredible modifications to the weaponry. When the right people found out, he was immediately recruited for weapon projects. They knew of his addiction to battle and they allowed him to continue, having complete faith in his fighting abilities. The higher ups were confident he would not be easily killed._

 _He would go back and forth between fighting and inventing. One day, he was destroying an enemy base with unnatural ease, the next, he would be working to invent a new gun. The constant and high-quality service made him quickly gain attention and he moved up the ranks inexplicably quickly. People would come to get to know him for his genius in tech and combat. He was the perfect war machine and the people in his world loved him for it._

 _However, there was one thing that was not quite perfect in his rather satisfying lifestyle. After many years, staying in this world that was so perfect for him, Takehiko eventually found himself longing to return to his family, wondering what his brother had been doing all this time._

* * *

" _You're bot-fighting!" Takehiko yelled angrily. Hibiki looked at him with bored defiance, moving himself defensively in front of his robot._

" _Yeah, so?"_

" _That's illegal, Hibiki!" The elder brother maneuvered to grab the robot, but the younger blocked him again._

" _Betting is, not the actually fighting." The smaller white haired boy argued back._

" _You're sixteen. You should know better than to try and get arrested by now!" Takehiko tried again. Another block._

" _That isn't going to happen!"_

" _Yes, it is. Are you delusional?!" The taller male stopped to look at the smaller in the eyes, trying to understand what was going on with the apparent bot-fighter._

" _I'm not delusional! It's fun! I_ like _it!" Hibiki spat. Their glares darkened in deep anger at each other._

* * *

 _After many years of separation, Takehiko finally felt the urge to go on leave and see his family for a few months. But the visit turned out to be a disaster. Once he got home, he was informed about the crazy-dumb hobby his little brother had decided to adopt. Upon hearing how Hibiki had chosen to so something so illegal, the vision of his little brother, innocent, loyal and would follow him anywhere, was shattered, ripped apart by the shocking dark reality. Their relationship could never be the same, especially after Takehiko confronted Hibiki in the angriest way possible._

 _The two brothers fought throughout the entire few months. As the situation went nowhere day after day, Takehiko found himself wishing he could go back to the war as soon as possible, missing his private lab and the smell of gun powder, missing the people who actually treated him with respect. Eventually, the brothers choose to ignore each other, avoiding the other by slipping into whatever different space they could. The parents, despite their best efforts, could only watch sorrowfully._

 _At one point, after sensing that Hibiki had snuck into the night to his next fight, Takehiko declared he would call the police, then maybe Hibiki would take all of this seriously, especially once he ended up in a cell. His parents talked him out of it, telling him that Hibiki would never forgive him and the younger son would come out of it on his own eventually. Then his mother made his favourite meal. The idea still remained in his head, but he never acted on it._

 _As the end of the leave came, Takehiko would make one last push for Hibiki to change. It ended like all the others: more fighting. By the end, both of them had conceited that there would be no reconciliation between them. The eldest Aihara brother ended his visit with a goodbye to his parents and a final glare at the bedroom window where the younger brother was hiding._

* * *

 _Years went by. No communication between Takehiko and his family had been made. The reason why: if there was one thing that defined the Aihara brothers, it was extreme, irrational stubbornness. Takehiko simply refused to talk to his brother, even going as far as to ignore or respond to any email or letter or call, making work initially very difficult. Brother, parent or old friend, no one was spared by Takehiko's wave of anger._

 _To keep this mindset strong, Takehiko focused on his work, some days more strongly than others. Colleagues would comment on it, wondering why he was so unhappy as he worked like a madman, but they never voiced their opinions aggressively. After all, Takehiko's work ensured the security and survival of many soldiers, especially the ones in whatever squad he was on, acting very intense on the battlefield. Thanks to all of this amazing work, the soldier-scientist quickly moved up the ranks._

 _Takehiko was content with this, this lifestyle so distant from what everyone was fighting for._

 _But he would regret choosing ignorance over connection._

 _Takehiko never thought about what he was missing back home._

 _He never realized he had missed all of Hibiki's great milestones._

 _He never imagined he missed Hibiki's transformation from bot-fighter to university graduate._

 _He never thought that his brother missed him very much._

 _He never imagined Hibiki would join the army to try and find him._

 _He never imagined how heartbroken he would be upon hearing that Hibiki had been killed in battle._

 _Takehiko had denied it at first, shaking his head at the recently promoted man, who had been by Hibiki's side throughout his military career. Upon Hibiki's death, the soldier had taken his fallen friend's mission and moved through the ranks until he finally met the thick headed older brother. The kind soldier shook his head solemnly at the denial. There were no lies in those blue eyes, only truthful sadness. Takehiko's head continued to shake as the apparent truth settled in his mind, as he continued to find no evidence of deception, as he could no longer lie to himself, as he stepped back._

 _As reality finally sunk in, Takehiko ran away from the soldier, ignoring the younger boy's cries. The white haired adult immediately went to his lab and closed it shut. Slapping a hand on his mouth to hold back his broken voice, his legs lost the will to stand and he fell. Black eyes were teary and wide, staring at the blurry nothing. When the tears fell and his vision cleared, he saw the pile of white letters, previously ignored, sitting on his desk. He willed himself to move forward, at first a crawl then a shaky walk._

 _Takehiko spent hours tearing through letters, and later scrambling to try and find deleted emails and voicemails, from Hibiki and anyone connected to him. Not even the curious questions of his colleagues distracted him from his obsessive reading. With each letter he read, he regretted his previous actions. Why was he so stubborn? Why did he choose to leave all of this behind? Why did he wait so long to read these?_

 _Eventually, he found the letter from his parents about Hibiki's death, his little brother's funeral and asking why was he not here? The letter had been sent a year ago. The rest of the letters didn't matter anymore, not when they weren't about his brother's life. No doubt they were similar to this one. Where was he when Hibiki died? Why wasn't he there for your brother? Why did this happen?_

 _Why?_

 _Why?!_

 _W_ h _ **y**_ _?!_

* * *

When Seishin regained consciousness, his eyes were glazed and his head hurt. Through the pain, he tried to remember the present, the past still looming in forefront of his mind. It took a moment, but memories eventually came back to him. His mouth's corners lifted into a broken and twisted grin, revealing his sharp teeth. His breath let out a sound of inner laughter trying to get through a fragmented mind and soul.

He had hope.

Hiro was in his possession and would quickly complete the time machine, ordered to make it better than it was before. The genius technopath was his and soon he would have his brother as well. The image made Seishin's smile beam in an evil way. But as he finally found the strength to stand, seeing the destruction around the green and orange heroes of San Fransokyo, fallen earth soldiers everywhere, a thought occurred to him.

Seishin frowned. These heroes were still in his way, trying to take what was his and keep him from his goal. As if he would allow that. But those children were persistent…Seishin struggled to get up. He glared in contemplation at the scene before his eyes, narrowing them further as green and orange tried to maneuver around the devastation of the army he had passed out to make. Hiro's security could be compromised if they figured out the maze too soon. No, his past counterpart would stop any that got too close…Regardless of his confidence, however, carefulness was a better attribute to hold.

Having his geokenesis make him a new tunnel to the inner maze, he moved inside with slightly shaky steps, the pain pounding a little more harshly than earlier. He was so tired, but he couldn't stop now. He was so close.

Soon.

Soon.

 _ **S**_ **o** o _n_ , Hibiki would be back.

His brother would be by his side.

And he would **n** _e_ v _ **e**_ **r** let him go.

* * *

 **Hibiki means "echo."**


End file.
